Of Sorcery and Strategy
by Salemstar
Summary: My first fic. Another novelization of FE 7. In this one, Mark, the tactician, is also a competent sage. I am not following the dialogue of the game exactly, only the major plot points. Tactician/Lyn, possibly other pairings. Not graphic.
1. The Name

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N- I've read a number of stories starring the tactician and Lyn, but only two where the tactician is also a competent fighter. One of those is a Zelda crossover, and the other was abandoned. So, I decided to write my own, where Mark is not only a strategist, but a sage as well. For the record, the pairings I know will be in this story are Mark/Lyn and Eliwood/Ninian. I reserve the right to add other pairings as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own is the plot.

Chapter 1: The Name

The young man struggled across the plains. It was the height of noon, and the heat was scorching. He was low on water, and was lost. He shouldered on, though, for he knew if he stopped he would not get up again for awhile. That could be dangerous in this land. He recast the spell that kept him from getting sunburned. He had been channeling this spell ever since he entered the plains, and it was starting to take its toll.

"I need to find water and a place to spend the night." The young man had a habit of talking to himself. It was probably because he had spent the last three years doing mercenary work in different places. He had no one he would call a friend, and only a few people he even deemed 'acquaintances.' His life had been long and hard, and he was only twenty years old.

Up ahead, he saw it. Green ferns were growing. He knew this signified water nearby, and he headed for the plant life. As he got closer, his prayers were answered. The ferns were growing on the bank of a sparkling river. The water was clear, and the land around it soft dirt, not the grainy sand he had been walking on for miles. The man gratefully set down his small rucksack, and filled his canteen from the river after taking several large gulps. He then gathered up some branches. He plucked some of the taller ferns and draped them over the branches to form an acceptable lean-to. After that he gathered more branches and some rocks. He arranged the rocks in a circle, and put the wood in the middle. He then concentrated slightly, and the branches caught fire.

Fire had always been his strongest power. He didn't really have much trouble with any of the schools of magic (he wasn't considered Ilia's strongest mage for no reason), but fire was his favorite. His first lesson had been to create a fireball, and he had succeeded spectacularly. Of course, his teacher had a number of books to replenish and the patio needed to be redone, but he had still created a fireball.

After he had a fire going, he extended his senses and felt around for signs of life. He found a rabbit nearby, and decided to hunt it the old-fashioned way. His power lay in his magic, but he made a point to remain physically fit. He also decided to learn the art of the sword and the bow, because sometimes it takes much less energy to do something physically rather than magically. He could have snuffed out the rabbit's life by concentrating on its neck and making it snap, but that took more energy than drawing a bowstring back, and releasing. Besides, he needed the practice with the bow, and better to do it here than on the battlefield where he could miss and hit an ally instead.

He drew his bow and fitted an arrow. He crept closer to the rabbit, took aim, and fired. His arrow was slightly off. He had been aiming for the neck, and instead hit the animal in the leg. The man was many things, but he was not cruel. He did not try to refit another arrow, but instead magically put the rabbit out of its misery. He picked it up and brought it back to his campsite. He drew his knife, skinned it, and put it on a spit over the fire, before sitting back and relaxing.

He had turned the rabbit over twice when he heard it. A twig had snapped behind him. It was probably just some animal looking to take a drink from the river, but he had many enemies, and he had not lived this long by being complacent. He extended his senses once again, and just barely managed to stop himself cursing out loud. Three human life-forces were headed his way, and chances were good they weren't fellow travelers. He quickly snuffed out the fire and moved into the shadows.

His fears were confirmed when three men trooped into the clearing. They were all well built and muscular, without shirts. They all had facial hair, and had sharp axes strapped to their backs.

Bandits.

The leader (i.e. the biggest one with the sharpest axe) turned to the other two and said "Looks like these travelers left in a hurry. I don't suppose they'd mind if we poor folks helped ourselves to that there rabbit."

Bozo number two (he had to call them something) chuckled. At least, the man thought it was a chuckle. It sounded more like he was coughing up a fur ball, but then, he _was_ a bandit. Bozo three responded "Yea, Boss, that rabbit sure looks good."

Mark decided this would be a good time to intercede. He was hungry, after all, and he didn't want to have to hunt another rabbit. He stepped out of the shadows and said "It's also mine."

The three whipped around while drawing their axes. The leader stepped forward, and said "Who are you to challenge the Taliver over their goods. We found this rabbit boy, and if you value your life you'll scram while we're interested in other things."

The man remained calm. He had dealt with worse before. "My name is my own, and you do not own what you simply happen upon. That rabbit is my dinner, and I will have it even if I have to go through the three of you."

The leader didn't give it a second thought. He roared and charged the man, axe raised high. His two companions followed suit, and the man reacted. He couldn't simply concentrate and kill these men like he could a rabbit, because humans were much more complicated. It was possible to do, but he would be dead before he could complete the spell. Instead, he summoned a small but powerful wind that turned the leader around. The leader's axe swung about and struck down Bozo number two. Bozo number three continued forward, and the man leaned to the side while drawing his sword. He was positioned such that Bozo number three stumbled past him and fell into the river.

The leader howled in rage and sung his axe again. The man deflected the blow with his sword, and he and the leader started to circle each other, testing each other's defenses. Meanwhile, Bozo number three was pulling himself out of the water, and now he and the leader were side by across from the man. The man took this chance to end the conflict without more bloodshed, for he had forgotten the strain to himself from holding up his sunburn protection spell all day and he was starting to tire. He acted quickly, summoning the shadows to him, wrapping them around him and obscuring his features from the two bandits. He cast a spell over his eyes, making them glow green, and another spell to make his voice deeper. He then spoke "You mess with powers you don't understand, mortals. Flee this place if you wish to live the night." As he expected, the two bandits turned tail and ran, splashing through the river to the other side and beyond.

As his head started to swim, he brought his strong will into play, forcing himself not to black out before the bandits had been out of sight for awhile. If they came back and found him passed out, they would kill him. Finally the call of darkness was too strong to resist, and he faded away.

He woke slowly, and his first thought was that he was extremely comfortable for a man lying on dirt. His second was that he was far too comfortable to be lying on dirt, and that something was wrong. He opened his eyes to find he was lying in a bed, not on dirt, and he was in some sort of tent. His third though was of his weapons, which he normally slept with. He sat up and looked around. His observant eyes spotted his rucksack, sword and bow on a chair in one corner of the tent. In another corner sat what was probably a fire pit for cooking food. A few clothes were laid out in the third corner, and another sword was in the forth corner. He examined this new sword. It was smaller than his, one-handed, curved with a gold-plated hilt. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was functional. It probably belonged to a woman or a very small man.

The tent flap opened then, and a young woman walked in. The man analyzed her, and immediately noticed her beauty. She had a nice figure with long, flowing green hair tied back in a pony tail, a beautiful face, and piercing green eyes. The man also noticed that she didn't carry herself the way most women did, but instead had a grace that suggested she was used to wielding a weapon. The sword in the corner was probably hers.

She spoke then, with a musical voice that he almost fell asleep listening to. "Oh. I see you're awake. That's good. I was beginning to get worried."

This caught the man's attention. "Worried? How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost twenty-four hours. I treated the small cut on your hand, but I couldn't see any sign of other injuries. I didn't know why you were unconscious in the first place." The man let out a small sign of relief. Twenty-four hours actually was pretty normal for magical exhaustion. He guessed the girl had never dealt with mages before, because magical exhaustion was pretty easy to spot. If there are no physical injuries, it's probably magical. He didn't say this though, because the woman had been kind to take him in like that, and there was no need to antagonize her.

Instead, he said "You have my thanks, lady. I don't care to think what might have happened had I been unconscious on the plains for twenty-four hours. Might I have your name?"

The woman was apparently raised to be very polite, for she apologized before answering. "Oh how rude of me! I'm sorry, my name is Lyn. Might I have yours, stranger?"

"Certainly. My name is Mark."

A/N: There! First chapter of my first fic. I didn't really make it clear, but I don't plan to follow the dialog of the game. In fact, I plan to go out of my way to change some of the lesser details of every chapter, in order to make things interesting. I won't skip any chapters, I will include all characters, and the major points of each chapter will remain the same, but I hope to make this as novel like as possible. I don't know how often I'll update, but I'll try to be consistent. Let me know what you think.


	2. The Beginning

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N- I'm shooting for an action/adventure story here, with a bit of humor thrown in. I don't think I could write a good story with humor as the focal point, so I'm not. Also, I'll try to update daily, but I may not be able to all the time. Anyway, enjoy!

Special Thanks to Cozman10, my first reviewer.

Also, thanks to OmegaSystems for pointing out the Arabic numeral thing. I will keep that in mind as I write.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own is the plot.

Chapter 2: The Beginning

"Mark, huh. I don't think I know of anyone by that name, but it is a good one nonetheless. What brings you to the plains of Sacae, Mark?"

Mark debated whether or not to answer truthfully. He doubted she was some kind of spy sent to kill him, but he couldn't be too careful. He decided to tell the truth, but omit some of it. "I'm a mercenary of sorts. I was traveling across the plains to get to Bern, where I hear there is a lot of work. I was accosted by several bandits at a watering hole. I defeated them in combat, and they ran off. One of them was killed. I was exhausted after a long day in the sun followed by that battle, and I must have passed out."

"Yes, I remember seeing the body of one of the bandits. You must be either very powerful or very lucky to have dealt such a blow to several bandits and lived to tell about it." Mark could see Lyn seemed deep in thought about something, but he didn't have a chance to question her about it. At that time, a shout was heard from outside the tent. Lyn jumped at the noise.

"What was that? Stay here, Mark. I'll go take a look." She grabbed her sword and ran out of the tent before Mark could respond. He had a good idea what that shout was, and if he was right, he and Lyn could be in some trouble. He was fit to fight, but if there were too many enemies, he may not be able to defeat them all. Still, he slowly maneuvered himself out of the bed, and he grabbed his sword, bow, and rucksack. By the time he was finished, Lyn had come rushing back into the tent.

"Bandits!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "Two of them. They must be moving to join a larger group preparing to raid some village. If there are only two of them, I think I can take them. Stay here, Mark, where you'll be safe."

Mark made a split-second decision. He was still tired. He probably would be more effective than her in fighting off the bandits, but that may not be a good idea in his condition. One should never use magic in quantity after suffering through magical exhaustion. Besides, based on his observations of Lyn and the way she carried her sword, he could tell she was inexperienced. Still, one has to actually use a sword in a combat situation to gain experience, and Lyn wouldn't get any if Mark did all the fighting. So, he responded "Wait. I am not yet well enough to fight, but I can guide your blade. I have some skill with sword and bow, and some skill with magic, but my real talent is my ability to guide the flow of battle so that my side emerges victorious.

It was a long-winded job description, especially when one word would suffice. Lyn summarized "A tactician, are you? Very well, stay close and tell me what to do, and I will see it done."

The two walked outside, and Mark surveyed the scene. "Well, what do you know, those are the two bandits I chased away last night. Okay Lyn, this is what I want you to do. The two are separated at the moment, and it would be easier to deal with them one at a time. Head to that copse of trees and draw the attention of the first one. Let him come to you, and you'll have the advantage of cover, where he will not. Dispatch him quickly, for the other may not be far behind."

Lyn nodded her understanding, and took off to do as ordered. Mark moved to a position farther in the back. He did not want to be seen by either bandit. If he was recognized, the two would most likely run, and cause havoc somewhere else. It was best to deal with them now while they were only two.

Once Lyn was in position, she gave a short shout of "Hey Ugly!" before falling silent. The two bandits turned in the direction of the noise. The leader said to Bozo number three "Go check out what that noise was." Bozo number three nodded and headed toward the copse of trees. Mark was ecstatic. After Lyn opened up on the man, she would have at least fifteen seconds to defeat him before the leader got there. Mark wouldn't even have to show himself.

As soon as the bandit was in range, Lyn swooped forward and attacked. The man didn't stand a chance. He barely got his axe up before her sword was upon him, and through sheer luck he deflected her first attack. Both combatants were left out of position, but Lyn was much faster and recovered first. She brought her sword back up before plunging it in his stomach.

By this time, the leader had recovered from his shock before making his way over to Lyn. She was going to meet him head on, when Mark stopped her. "Wait," he whispered, "let him come to you. You have the advantage in the trees." Lyn nodded and prepared herself. It was obvious the leader had more skill than the first one, and Lyn didn't have the advantage of surprise anymore. This fight would be difficult.

The bandit got to the trees and kept going. He swung at Lyn, who ducked and counterattacked. She got in a slash at his left side, before ducking again as he brought his axe back around. The leader was smart though, and was more careful not to drop his guard. He started hacking at Lyn in such a manner that she couldn't get on the offensive. The man had more experience than Lyn, and it showed after a few minutes of the song and dance routine going on. He managed a sizable gash across Lyn's stomach, and she cried out and fell to the ground. He raised his axe for the killing blow, but Mark interceded. He brought his sword down to block the bandits swing, and shoved the bandit back. The bandit turned to this new threat, and his eyes widened in shock as he recognized the man that became the nightmare from the watering hole. Mark spoke "Remember me?" before Lyn put her sword through the bandits chest.

As he gave a last gasp and fell to the ground, Mark turned to Lyn and examined her wound. He did have some skill with healing powers, but without a heal staff, his limited abilities would not be enough to close the wound. Instead, he went to his rucksack and pulled out a vulnerary. He knelt by her side and asked "May I?" She nodded once with a pained expression on her face, and Mark gently applied the vulnerary to her wound. He couldn't help but notice that her skin was smooth, and her stomach flat, but he suppressed those thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking about her beauty.

Lyn breathed a sigh of relief as the vulnerary did its job on her wound. She sat up and thanked Mark, before looking back at the two she had just killed. Mark saw her look and asked what the problem was. Lyn looked at him before replying "I have killed in the heat of battle before, but I've never killed someone in a duel like that." She looked almost ashamed as she continued. "They are bandits. They would have killed others had we not stopped them here. They would have killed me if I had not killed them." She paused, and her voice was small when she spoke next. "So why do I feel so guilty?"

Mark took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering her. "You feel guilty because you are kind. These bandits have done unspeakable things, and would probably do more if given the chance. Still, they were human beings, and taking another's life like this is always a slippery slope. You mentioned killing in the heat of battle. That is different, because then you start dehumanizing the enemy. They do not have names, only faces, and often you do not even see the face of the enemy you kill, because you are already moving on to the next one. Here however, you looked that man in the eye as he died. That's a power you've never felt before, and it's a dangerous one. You may not realize it now, but it's good that you feel guilty. The minute you _don't _feel guilty, that's when you know you've crossed the line. I've killed men before, many men, and I still see all their faces. It shouldn't get easier."

Lyn seemed somewhat mollified, and she thanked him again before cleaning the blood off her sword. "We should head back. It will be dark soon." Mark nodded his agreement, and the two walked back to her small hut.

It was while he was cooking dinner that Mark saw the same thoughtful expression come over Lyn's face that had while she had listened to his explanation of why he had fallen unconscious. This time he asked her about it. "Something wrong, Lyn?"

She didn't answer right away, and when she did she spoke slowly. "No, not wrong. I was just wondering…well, I can see you have experience in the ways of war. I have lived alone on these plains for months, and I need a purpose. Would you mind terribly if I…traveled with you?"

Mark almost dreaded to ask his next question. If he was correct, he wouldn't like the answer, but he couldn't just agree without knowing for sure. "What of your parents? Will they be okay with this?"

Lyn started tearing up, and Mark knew his suspicions were true. Even on the Plains of Sacae, a young woman living by herself was very abnormal. Sure enough, Lyn gathered herself enough to respond "My parents are… they're not alive anymore." Mark apologized, but Lyn didn't seem to hear him as she continued. "Bandits came during the night. They poisoned the drinking water, so no one was in any shape to resist the attack. My father the chief put me on a horse and told me to run. I did not want to listen, but the look on his face made me obey. I went back later…they left none alive."

Mark didn't have a response to that. Instead, he gently rubbed her shoulder, and she leaned into him. He didn't have much experience consoling women, but he'd seen his father rub his mother's back whenever she was upset, and it seemed to help, so he tried it with Lyn. She cried into his shoulder for a minute or so, before steeling herself. "No. Crying doesn't help. I promised them I would avenge them, and I will. Please, Mark, let me travel with you. I am not strong enough yet to keep my promise, and I know you can help me. Please,"

Mark cut her off before she could continue. "I understand, Lyn. I could use a companion on my journey."

Lyn smiled at him, before jumping up and starting to gather her things. "Oh, thank you! We'll make a good team, you and me. I just know it."

Mark laughed at her sudden change in disposition, before trying to calm her down. "Lyn, slow down. We should spend the night here and prepare. A good night's rest will help after the day we just had, and we still need a plan."

Lyn blushed before settling down. "You're right. We need to pack supplies and decide upon a course of action. But all that can wait until tomorrow. For now, we eat and then sleep."

The two shared a hawk that Mark shot down with his bow for dinner. After that, they got into a short argument over who would sleep in the bed. It was a weird argument, because both were trying to get the other to take the bed. Mark argued that while he knew she was used to discomfort, it would still be gentlemanly of him to allow her the bed, especially because it was her bed. Lyn argued that as the host, it was proper for her to allow him the bed. The two didn't budge until Lyn pulled out her secret weapon. She pouted at him, and said "Mark, if you don't take the bed I'll cry."

Mark through his hands into the air in defeat and said "Okay, you win. Just stop looking at me like that. I'll take the bed, but if I hear you tossing and turning all night I'm putting you in the bed and taking the floor."

Lyn nodded and said "Deal" and hugged him in thanks before taking one of the blankets off the bed to sleep under and leaving the rest to Mark. Before he drifted away, he got in the last word.

"By the way, I snore."

A/N: Done. I tried to make the fight sound believable. I don't have any experience directing battles, so I was winging it. I'm also trying to make Mark out to be very competent, but not perfect (thus the poor healing abilities). Also, I've never actually killed anyone, so I don't have any idea what it's like. For those who do know, I hope Mark's speech didn't offend you. That was just my thoughts on the subject. On a different note, I've decided to try and end each chapter with a little quip from Mark. Let me know if you like it or if you think it's stupid.


	3. The Revelation

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N: To Cozman10- if you keep reading, I'll keep updating. Thanks for the positive feedback. Also, if the fights get too unbelievable, let me know and I'll try to fix it.

To OmegaSystems-I went back to chapter two to fix that dialogue problem. I only found two places near the end where I did that, and I fixed them. If there are other places that I missed, let me know and I'll change them. I also fix the arabic numeral problem.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own is the plot.

Chapter 3: The Revelation

The next day Mark and Lyn woke up early to make preparations. Mark noticed a problem almost immediately, and pointed it out to Lyn. "You have a nice place Lyn, but you live rather sparsely. There aren't enough supplies here for an extended trip for one person, let alone two. Our first stop should be the nearest city, where we can get supplies. After that, I suppose we'll head to Bern to find work."

Lyn nodded in agreement. "I've never seen the need for many supplies. I've lived on the move for six months, and it's easier to pack and go when one doesn't have much. I have a number of huts in different places, and I rotate between them to keep the bandits from finding me." She thought for a moment before continuing. "The nearest city would be Bulgar, which coincidentally is also Sacae's largest city. It would be the perfect place to get supplies. We should make a list of what we need beforehand."

Mark picked up where she left off. "We should also determine what we need most and what we just want, because we might not have the coin to buy it all. I only have one thousand gold on me."

Lyn took a moment to check on her own wealth. "I have five hundred gold, so that should be enough for the essentials. What exactly should we bring?"

Mark pulled out a pencil and a piece of paper. "Well, food, although we shouldn't buy too much of that. We'll hunt whenever we can, and just take non-perishable foods for when there is no game. We'll also need a map, warm clothes, spare weapons, and a tent or two. The tents we can do without if need be, but they'd be a big help in the rain. We have water canteens, but we might want to get spares of those as well. We'll need blankets to go with the tents, and perhaps a pot of some sort for cooking stew. Can you think of anything else?" While he was speaking, he was writing down on the paper what they would need. When they were done he put stars next to clothes and spare weapons, indicating they were the most important supplies the two would need to get.

Lyn shook her head. "You're the expert, so you would know better than I would. Still, I can't think of anything, except horses, which would make our journey go much faster." Mark pointed out the flaw in that. "I would love a pair of horses, but we only have one thousand five hundred gold total. That's not enough for one. We'd need four times that amount to get two, and then we'd have nothing left for the other supplies we need." Lyn looked somewhat sad at hearing she wouldn't be able to ride a horse. "Oh well. I've always wanted to ride a horse, but I guess it's not important. If we're getting most of our supplies at Bulgar, then what we have packed now should be enough." Mark agreed, and the two left her hut and set off.

"Which direction is Bulgar in, and how long will it take to get there?" Mark couldn't believe it had taken this long for him to think of those questions.

Lyn looked at a small map she was holding before replying "It's to the South, between here and Bern, if that's what you're wondering. It's maybe a seven hour walk from here."

"Well that seems reasonable," Mark concluded. Without further ado, he set off in the direction Lyn had indicated, and she was right on his heels. He set a rather fast pace, because he wanted to get there as soon as possible, with enough time left over after gathering supplies to get a head start on the long journey to Bern.

The two kept up conversation as they walked along, but they stayed away from sensitive subjects. Mark was careful not to ask Lyn anything he thought might remind her of her family. Lyn, however, was curious to know more about her new companion, and asked what his family thought of his adventures. Mark sighed before looking at her, and answered "My parents died when I was five. My father had been a servant of the state, and so the state forced another family to take me in when my parents died. The family was not happy about having another mouth to feed, and I had to earn my keep. When I was twelve, I left for the military academy, and I never looked back." Lyn didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything.

After that, the conversation stayed on safe topics. Mark told his story about the first time he tried to cast a fireball and incinerated his teacher's room. Lyn told the story of the first time she tried to ride a horse. She was seven, and the horsemaster of her village had a pony he thought she could learn nicely on. Mark was expecting the generic story where she tried to get on and then fell off, but it turned out her story was rather boring. She got up on the pony just fine, and stayed there just fine, because the pony wasn't moving. She was in the pony's stall, and it was eating hay. Mark decided Lyn wasn't a good storyteller.

They made it to Bulgar in six hours at the pace Mark set, and decided to split up to gather supplies. Mark got his own clothes, some extra food, spare weapons for himself, water canteens for both of them, and tents. Lyn got a map of the world to replace her map of Sacae, blankets for the two of them, her own clothes, spare weapons for herself, and a cooking pot. After two hours of shopping, the two met at a prearranged spot and prepared to start towards Bern.

While they were checking to make sure they had everything they needed, they were interrupted by a loud, male voice. "Sweet St. Elmine, milady, you are too beautiful to walk this earth!" The two looked up and saw a man in green armor carrying a lance and sitting astride a horse. He was obviously a knight, and he had what he probably thought was a charming smile on his face. Once Mark and Lyn realized he was talking to them, they reacted. Mark tried not to laugh at the rather pathetic pick-up line, while Lyn politely replied,

"I'm sorry sir, do we know each other?"

The knight puffed out his chest and replied "I'm sure I would remember so beautiful a face as yours, milady. I am Sain of Caelin. Please, fair angel, would you honor me with your name?"

Mark could see Lyn was starting to get annoyed. In fairness, he would probably be annoyed if someone called him a fair angel as well. He decided to intercede before the knight could dig himself into a deeper hole.

"Lyn we have everything we need. We can leave whenever you're ready." As he suspected, she was more than ready and grabbed his arm.

As she started dragging him away, the knight made a last ditch effort. "Wait, fair angel, please, I only wish to gaze upon your beauty."

Lyn started to walk faster, and the knight spurned his horse forward. Before Lyn could hurt the man, Mark turned her down an alley the man's horse couldn't follow. The two travelers ignored the man calling out behind them as they walked on. When he was out of earshot, Lyn turned to Mark and said "The nerve of that man. Are all knights of Caelin so disrespectful?" Mark shook his head.

"I doubt it, and if they are, it is probably because they do not see it as disrespect. Still, I'm glad the situation was diffused with no bloodshed." Lyn was still somewhat angry, because she whirled on Mark and poked him in the chest.

"Don't you start as well. I could have handled myself just fine." Mark was quick to explain himself

"It wasn't you I was worried about Lyn. Killing that guy would have caused more problems than it would have solved." Lyn blushed before turning and walking for the gate.

As they got there, they found the knight they had just gotten away from had taken up a post at the gate, and he had brought a friend with him. Mark looked around for another way out of the city, but the knight saw Lyn first. "Look Kent, there she is. Isn't she simply beautiful?"

The other knight was dressed in red armor. He carried a sword and lance, and looked as happy with his companion as Lyn was. "Sain, be quiet. We are here to complete a mission, and I will not allow you to jeopardize that."

Lyn and Mark had reached the two as they argued, and Lyn got angry all over again. "Move before I call the city guard!" The green knight looked shocked that 'his angel' would threaten him so, but the red knight apologized before moving his horse out of the way. Mark nodded at him.

"Thank you. I'm glad not all of Caelin's knights are like him," Lyn said while nodding her head at the man in green. Now he looked affronted.

"Hey. What's wrong with being like me? I am Sain the courageous of Caelin. I have bested whole armies with my lance alone. I am the right hand of the Marquess. I can juggle, I can pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time, I can-"

The other knight cut him off. "Sain shut up. They're gone." Sain looked up.

"What?" Sure enough, Mark and Lyn were already walking down the road. "But I hadn't even gotten to my intelligence yet."

Kent was beyond angry "You fool Sain! Can you think of nothing else?"

Sain was unapologetic. "Calm down, Kent, it was just a bit of fun. You have to admit, she was beautiful."

"She was also our mission, and thanks to you she's walking away." Sain stared at Kent before looking after the two figures in the distance.

"What makes you say that?"

Kent spoke slowly, to make sure Sain could understand. "Did you see her face. She was the spitting image of that portrait of her mother hanging in the castle. She's definitely who we're looking for." Sain looked at Kent for a moment longer, before the two turned their horses and followed the pair.

Meanwhile, Lyn had calmed down and she and Mark had fallen back into the easy rapport they had shared on the way to Bulgar. It lasted until Mark heard something behind him. He turned to examine the noise, but didn't see anything. Shrugging, he turned back and continued walking with Lyn, who hadn't noticed anything amiss. Seconds later, Mark heard it again. This time he stopped and turned around. He still couldn't see anything. Lyn noticed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Mark was about to turn back around when he saw it. In the bushes, something glinted. He took a closer look, and could see the outline of a man carrying an axe. He looked around, and spotted two more. He turned back to Lyn and said "Run!" The two took off down the path, and heard shouts behind them as the men gave chase. Mark rounded a bend and skidded to a halt so fast that Lyn crashed into him. Only her light weight kept him from falling over.

In front of them was a deep, wide river. There was no bridge in sight. It would take a long time to ford, and by then the men behind them would have caught up. Mark didn't see any other options. "We'll have to fight our way out of this one." Lyn looked determined as she drew her sword and turned around. Mark did the same and saw five men coming at them. He must have missed two. The men charged forward and Mark spoke to Lyn quickly. "There are too many of them. Fall back to the river so they can't surround us. Focus on one while I keep the others at bay. Make a hole in their circle, and we head back to the city."

Before Lyn could respond, the men were upon them. Mark swung at one with his sword, and used magic to send a fireball at another. The first axeman dodged the sword, but the second wasn't fast enough and was incinerated by the fireball. Meanwhile, Lyn had taken the offensive with the first opponent to reach her. He thrust at her, but she dodged to the side and smoothly cut his throat. The other 3, seeing the numbers almost even, backed off. Unfortunately, they blocked the path, so Mark and Lyn would have to keep fighting.

One of them spoke. "Are you Lyndis, girl?" Lyn looked rather shocked at this. Mark looked at her, and realized he probably should have guessed that Lyn was short for something. Lyn wasn't answering, so Mark decided to do so for her.

"What if she is?"

"Then that's too bad, because she's a looker. But, the price on her head is worth more to me than a night with her body, so I'm afraid her looks are gonna go be wasted."

Mark decided to keep the man talking while he tried to find a way out of this mess. "What do you mean, price on her head?" As far as he knew, Lyn was no criminal, and she didn't seem like the type to make enemies. He dearly hoped she hadn't been playing him all this time, because he was really starting to like her. He gave her a sideways glance, and she was still staring at the man with her mouth open. He had the strangest feeling that she didn't know anything about the price on her head either.

The man shrugged and answered, "All I know is someone wants her dead and is offering to pay big money for it. From Caelin I think. I need the money, so I'm afraid that means she needs to die."

That brought Lyn out of her stupor. "Caelin! Mark, you don't think… those knights, they couldn't have…" Mark didn't think so.

"I doubt it. One, if they wanted to kill you, why didn't they do so the minute we were out of sight of the city? They had horses, we would never have been able to outrun them. Two, knights aren't paid that much. Where would they get the money to pay mercenaries? And three, they're coming this way now, and they look to be targeting our friends here."

Sure enough the knight in red ('Kent', Mark reminded himself) came up behind one of the brigands and said "That is correct. We mean you no harm." The brigands whipped around and gulped. They had gone from a five on two to a three on four, and they were surrounded.

The leader swallowed his fear and issued a challenge. "So be it. We'll take you all on, starting with the weakest first." He turned back to Lyn, raised his axe, and charged. Kent and Sain shouted and charged forward, but the other two bandits intercepted them. Kent drew his sword and impaled his bandit as his horse raced past, but Sain pulled his lance, thrust, and missed the bandit entirely. The bandit hooked his axe around the lance and pulled it out of Sain's grip. Before the bandit could capitalize on his advantage, his axe burned red and he dropped it to the ground. He turned to see Mark lowering his hand. He didn't notice as Sain pulled his sword and stabbed the man in the back.

Meanwhile, the opponent charging Lyn reached her and swung. Lyn, however, was angry at the bandit for inferring that she was weak. She dodged his swing and timed her own so that she struck his hand. He howled in pain and dropped his weapon. She brought her sword up underneath his throat.

Everything stopped. Kent and Sain looked ready to tell her to kill the bandit, while Mark looked ready to stop her. After a moment of looking at the bandit, she spoke. "I don't kill those who cannot defend themselves. Besides, I want you to rot in prison with the knowledge that you were defeated by a woman."

The bandit was tied up, and then Mark and Lyn turned to the two knights. Mark spoke first "I appreciate your aid, but there's no way you heard the sound of battle from the city and made it here that fast. You were following us. Why?" At this, Lyn looked ready to draw her sword, but Kent held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Milord, milady, I am sorry if my companion or I offended you earlier. As you seem to already know, we are knights of Caelin. We were sent to Sacae by our Marquess on a mission. Many years ago, the Marquess had a daughter named Madelyn." Mark caught Lyn's gasp at this. "She fell in love with a nomad from the plains, someone her father did not approve of. In order to be with this nomad, she was forced to run away from her home. The Marquess was incensed, and he disowned her. He put her out of his mind, until recently. He received word that his daughter had a child of her own, a girl named Lyndis. His heart had softened in his old age, and he wished a chance to make amends with his daughter and to see his granddaughter. He sent us to find her. I believe we have now."

Lyn was more astounded than when she heard there was a price on her head. "You, you mean I'm royalty? That can't be! I'm just, just Lyn. I'm not special."

Kent, however, wasn't having any of this. "There is a portrait of your mother in Castle Caelin. You look exactly like her. I have no doubt you are the Marquess's granddaughter."

Mark thought of something. "Wait. That bandit. He called you Lyndis. How many people knew that was your true name?"

"Only my mother and father. They were the only ones who called me that. I was Lyn to everyone else. So how did that bandit know my name?" Lyn asked.

Kent seemed mystified, but Sain had an answer. "Lundgren…" he growled. "The Marquess's brother. When the Lady Madelyn was disowned, he became the heir to the throne."

Mark picked up the thought from there. "But, with the Marquess confessing his desire to make amends with his daughter, Lundgren's position as heir is in jeopardy. But if the lady and her family are all dead, then his position is safe. It would explain the attack on Lyn's village, and the price on her head. If this is true, then Lyn isn't safe, and she won't be until Lundgren is removed. But she and I can't do that alone."

Kent straightened and responded. "Sain and I are sworn knights of Caelin. I do not doubt Lyn is the rightful heir to the throne. She has my allegiance." Sain nodded in agreement, and Mark turned to Lyn and said,

"Ready for your first job?"

A/N: Chapter three done. Let me know what you think.


	4. The Weapon

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N-if anyone can come up with a good punchline to the joke at the beginning, kudos to you.

Special thanks to Cozman10 and OmegaSystems. Between the two of you, I have 6 reviews! Woot!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own is the plot.

Chapter 4: The Weapon

They made for an odd group. Two knights, a sage and a noble. 'It's almost like the beginning of a bad joke,' Mark mused. 'Two knights, a sage and a noble walk into a bar, but what's the punch line?' He couldn't think of anything, and so put it out of his mind.

The group had changed course. Mark and Kent had agreed that to attract as little attention as possible, they should avoid traveling through Bern. Instead, they would travel through the mountains that rimmed Northern Bern. The area was well known for a bandit infestation, but better that than a trained army trying to eliminate a Sacaen noble. Kent seemed to think the journey could be made in a week or so if the group kept up a fast pace.

To this end, Mark had questioned Kent about the ability of the knights' horses to carry two people at a time. Kent seemed confident the horses could bear the extra load, and so Mark and Lyn hopped on. Mark took one for the team and chose Sain as his riding companion. This proved to be a good idea, because Sain was still hitting on Lyn every once in a while, and the girl looked annoyed enough to do something drastic. Kent, however, was a smart man, and was keeping his horse far enough away that the most Lyn could do was pointedly ignore Sain.

After awhile of traveling the open plains, the group reached the base of the mountain range and started the next step of their journey. Mark had once read a scroll on how the bandits controlled this territory and was trying to recall what he had read for anything that could give him an edge should the company meet with trouble. Sain had fallen quiet after his latest attempt to talk to Lyn was rebuffed, and Kent seemed to be explaining something to Lyn. From the looks of things, Lyn didn't like what she was hearing.

As the group continued up the path, they passed by a smaller path leading off into the mountains on the right. Upon seeing this, Lyn perked up. "Oh. That path leads to a Sacaen Shrine in the mountains. The Mani Katti itself is on a pedestal in this shrine. It is customary for Sacaens about to embark on a long journey to stop by the shrine and touch the Mani Katti for luck. I had been meaning to ask Mark, would you mind if we visited?"

Sain could not repress a sneer. "You want us to waste a day to go and touch a sword in the hopes that it will bring us luck?"

Kent and Lyn both turned to Sain-Kent to rebuke him, Lyn to shout at him. But Mark was faster, and more eloquent. "Sain! Hold your tongue! You are entitled to your own beliefs, but so is Lyn. If she wishes to worship at this shrine and pray for good luck, then it is not your place to say otherwise!" He turned to Lyn and said "We are in no hurry, and we do face dangerous times ahead. Perhaps it would be a good idea to stop by this shrine. It will certainly do no harm." He finished with a glare at Sain. The knight looked properly chastised, and Kent and Lyn could not find words to top Mark's, so they stayed silent.

The group turned toward the path deeper into the mountains and followed it. The trail was narrower here, and so the horses had to proceed single file. Kent went first with Lyn, and Sain followed with Mark. It was a nice day out. The sun was shining, and the forest provided just enough shade to keep the temperature comfortable.

The group continued to converse as they rode. Kent and Lyn were talking again. Mark couldn't hear the conversation, but he guessed it was not the same one as earlier, because Lyn didn't look unhappy this time. Mark and Sain, meanwhile, had engaged in a conversation on the benefits of cavalry over infantry.

"I'm just saying, Mark, that cavalry moves faster than infantry and is therefore better kept in reserve when you need forces to be able to move quickly from one end of a battlefield to the other." Sain was gesturing with his arms while speaking, and more than once almost smacked Mark in the face.

"I'm not disagreeing with you Sain. All I'm saying is that sometimes you want to be able to surprise the enemy with additional forces. To that end, cavalry won't work because there isn't any known way to conceal a hundred horses bearing down on one's position. Infantry can move quickly enough to be effective, and much more quietly. I remember this one time I was doing a job for the mayor of a small village. He had some problems with the local bandits and I agreed to- stop. Did you hear that?"

Mark had heard it first, but everyone heard it. It sounded like footsteps, and they were getting closer. Kent and Sain drew their weapons. Lyn followed suit, and Mark prepared a fireball. He then issued directions "No one attacks until I say. It sounds like someone is running towards us. We haven't been that loud, so I doubt whoever is coming knows we're here. Even so, be on your guard."

At that moment, a woman came bursting out of the trees. She was a villager, with a dirty face, ragged dress, and strong forearms that indicated she was used to hard work. She looked at first surprised to see them, and then relieved. She spoke before anyone in the group could do anything.

"Thank goodness. You must be travelers on your way to the shrine. A group of thugs has entered the holy grounds. They are trying to steal the Mani Katti!"

Lyn looked ready to jump off Kent's horse and charge toward the shrine, but Mark saw and stopped her. "Hold, Lyn!" He turned toward the villager and asked "Is anyone at the shrine in danger?"

The lady nodded once, and spoke "Most of the monks managed to get away, but the leader of the thugs got to the old priest who looks after the Mani Katti. Please, no one in the village is trained in combat. You must help them."

Mark didn't need to look at Lyn to know she was begging him with her eyes to agree to help the villager. Kent and Sain looked ready to do as commanded. He closed his eyes and took a moment to formulate a plan. When he opened them, he asked the lady a series of questions. "What can you tell me about the shrine? How big is it? How many entrances does it have? Are there any secret passageways you know of? How many thugs were there?"

The lady's eyes were wide, but she managed to stammer out an answer. "The shrine is relatively small. There is only one entrance, the main gate in the front. Small, rocky hills surround the entrance. Only those on foot can make it there. There are no secret passages I know of, but to the west, accessible by horse, there is a section of the wall in dire need of repair. A powerful thrust from one of those lances could probably bring it down. To the best of my knowledge, there were four thugs involved in the invasion."

Mark pressed her for more. "Were they all carrying axes?"

The lady thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Three of the four were, but the fourth, who I believe is the leader, was a sword wielder."

Mark nodded and thanked her for the information. The lady turned and ran back to her village while Mark turned to his companions to issue orders.

"Kent, Sain, head to that west wall. Lyn and I will head for the main entrance. I will signal you by whistling, and when I do, Sain, break the wall down with your lance. Kent, have your sword at the ready. When Sain breaks the wall down, rush past him and start eliminating the enemy. Sain, steady yourself after breaking the wall, sheathe your lance, draw your sword, and follow suit."

Kent didn't like the plan, and made it known. "No. I am a servant of Castle Caelin and it is my job to protect the royal family. Lyn will stay with me."

Mark countered. "You heard the villager. You and Sain can't approach the main gate. If Lyn goes with you, I either have to go through the gate alone, or go with you as well. If I go through the gate alone I could easily be overwhelmed, and if I go with you, we could get bottlenecked at the entrance. Neither of these appeals to me. The best plan is the one I just put forward."

Kent looked ready to continue arguing, but Lyn put an end to the conversation. "Kent! I trust Mark. If he says this is the best plan, then it is, and you will go along with it. If you don't, you will go back to Caelin empty handed."

Kent didn't look happy about being strong-armed, but he nodded once before wheeling his horse around. Mark and Lyn had jumped off already, and Kent and Sain galloped toward the eastern wall. Meanwhile, Mark and Lyn started running towards the front gate. Mark spoke to Lyn quickly as they ran.

"Okay, when we get there, I'm going to signal Kent and Sain. We'll wait for the commotion that always comes with a broken wall, then open the main doors. We'll wait in the entryway while I assess the situation. If it looks like all the opponents are fixated on Kent and Sain, we'll sneak in and attack from behind. If we're noticed, however, we'll wait in the doorway to prevent getting surrounded. Understand?"

Lyn nodded once, and the two approached the entrance. A flaw in Mark's plan was shown, as there were bandits milling around outside the doors to the shrine. "Lyn, stay in the trees and get closer to the one on the left. When he's dead, I'll deal with the one on the right."

Lyn nodded again before moving off. Mark slowly shuffled toward the bandit on the right, while keeping an eye on Lyn's progress. As she neared her target, Mark drew his bow and fitted an arrow in it. He took aim and waited.

Soon, Lyn burst from the trees and caught her opponent completely by surprise. She quickly put him out of his misery. As the other bandit turned to face her, Mark fired. His aim was slightly off, but he got lucky. Instead of the bandit's head, which Mark was aiming for, he hit the bandit's left arm, which was coincidentally his strong arm, and the one holding his axe. He dropped the axe and gave a cry of pain. Before he could do anything else, Lyn killed him.

Mark feared the bandits inside might have heard the commotion, and he quickly whistled. He was rewarded when he heard a crumbling sound to the west, followed by two loud battle cries. He motioned to Lyn, and the two hurried to the door. They opened it, and in a split second, Mark made his decision. He could see Kent and Sain hacking at the enemy with their swords and holding their own, but the noise he and Lyn made earlier had given away their position, and there were two bandits headed towards them. Mark sent a fireball towards one. The bandit dodged, but he collided with his fellow and both fell to the floor. Mark and Lyn drew swords and charged forward while they had the advantage. Pretty soon, the two bandits were unconscious. Mark looked up, and saw Kent and Sain had defeated their opponents as well.

The leader of the thugs, the only one with a sword, ran into the room to find out what was going on. He took one look at his downed men and pointed at the group. "You will pay for what you have wrought here. I am Glass, and there is no finer swordsman in all the world. Face me in combat, and face justice!"

Mark turned to Kent and Sain and said "Defeat him." Lyn, however, had other ideas.

"No Mark, I will face him." With that, she drew her sword, and ignoring Mark's shout of "NO!" she charged Glass. Glass dodged her incoming swing and thrust at her with his own sword. She parried the blow, and the two began an intricate dance of moving feet and slashing weapons. Lyn was good, but it soon became clear Glass was better. He was as fast as she was, and stronger. It wouldn't be long before Lyn made a mistake Glass could capitalize on. Fortunately, Mark thought fast.

"Kent! Circle around! Hit him with your lance, but make sure not to hit her. Sain, be prepared to intercede should that thug land a hit on her." The two dove into action, and Mark prepared a shield spell, a spell that would physically block Glass's weapon should Lyn be unable to do so.

Beset on all sides, Glass didn't last much longer. He finally breathed his last, and Mark stopped to draw a breathe. Before he could congratulate the others, Lyn was in his face.

"Why did you do that? That was an honor duel, and I have been dishonored by your interference."

Mark was still annoyed that Lyn disobeyed his earlier order by engaging Glass. "There is no honor in death, Lyn! He was better than you, and I just saved your life by interfering. Not only that, but if he killed you, then Sain, Kent and I would all be stunned, and he would have the perfect opportunity to kill us as well. If you ever do something so foolhardy again I will have Kent tie you to a tree when we go to battle."

Lyn looked shocked that Mark would talk to her like that. "But, I," Mark interrupted her.

"No buts! You are not expendable Lyn. When I issue orders in battle, they are with the best interests of my men in mind. Kent and Sain were more than a match for him. You are on a mission now, and like it or not, you are the leader of this group. You have a responsibility to us and to yourself. You cannot be careless."

Lyn looked ashamed of herself, but she nodded and accepted what Mark was saying. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should not have rushed into danger like that, but I was angry at seeing him commit sacrilege, and I wanted to be the one to stop him."

Mark's gaze softened. "It's alright Lyn. Just know that when I give orders, I do it because everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and it is my job as tactician to make sure everyone's orders play to their strengths. Your greatest strength lies in your speed and accuracy. You are very effective against slow bandits that can't react in time to protect themselves. Glass, however, was also fast, and stronger than you. Kent and Sain were armored and on horseback, so Glass's speed would not have helped him defeat them. That is why I had them get involved."

Lyn nodded her understanding, and the two walked over to Kent and Sain. Mark made sure no one was hurt, and was about to issue an order to return to the main path when he thought of something. "Hey. The villager said that the caretaker was being held hostage. Where is he?"

Before the others could respond, a voice behind them said "I'm right here. My apologies if I worried you. The shrine has a secret room in the back for protection for situations like this one. Fortunately, this is the first time I've had to use it."

"The shrine is safe Father. If you don't mind, we had been heading this way to pray to the spirits of the Mani Katti for safe passage. It would be appreciated if we still could." Lyn was looking at the priest as she said this, but her eyes strayed to the Mani Katti at the end of her sentence.

The priest was most obliging. He even let Lyn touch the sword, which proved to be one of the smartest decisions he ever made. As Lyn touched the sword, it started glowing. The glow shocked her, and she withdrew her hand. The glow stopped when she did so. She turned to the priest with a questioning look on her face, and he had an answer. "Oh my. It seems, my dear, that you are the destined owner for this blade."

Lyn was more shocked than when the sword started glowing. "What? The destined owner of the Mani Katti? I can't be."

The priest seemed to be expecting this response, because he had a ready answer. "The thug you just defeated tried to take the Mani Katti for himself." Lyn looked outraged at this, but the priest held up a hand to forestall her tirade and continued "He failed. Only the chosen one can pull that blade out of its resting place. If you don't believe what your eyes have already told you, then draw the sword and see the truth."

Lyn had nothing to say to that, so instead she did as ordered. She approached the Mani Katti again and wrapped her fingers around the hilt. The sword starting glowing again, so brightly that Mark had to squint and cover his eyes with his hand, while Sain and Kent looked away. Lyn got a firmer grip on the sword, before pulling it out of the pedestal. The glow died down, and Kent and Sain turned back to see Lyn holding the sword and staring at it in wonder. Mark summed up the situation nicely.

"Well, this is going to make the road ahead a lot easier."

A/N-Chapter 4 done. I thought about doing a scene in this chapter from Kent and Sain's perspective, but I decided to stick to Mark's POV for now. I may change my mind in the future though, so be warned.


	5. The Pegasus

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N- at the beginning, I did my own version of the talk Sain and Kent give Lyn to convince her that the Mani Katti is hers. In my version, Mark joins in with reasons why the Mani Katti is better than other blades. I don't actually know what makes one sword better than another, so I went for humor there. If anyone could tell me real advantages the Mani Katti could theoretically have, I may be able to work that into an action scene later. Anyway, enjoy.

To Cozman10-you mentioned you were looking forward to a big fight scene. Well, I've changed the way I do fight scenes in this chapter. In the game, about 7 bandits take over the village where you meet Florina. In my story, there are about 30 bandits, and I didn't tell how each bandit was defeated. Instead, I gave a general overview of the battle and how Mark reacted to any changes. If you review, could you tell me if you liked it?

A/N- if anyway else would like to review with suggestions to improve anything about this work, I am open to constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 5: The Pegasus.

It took Mark half an hour to get everyone back on track after Lyn had her world changed by the revelation that she was the chosen wielder of the Mani Katti. She still couldn't believe she was meant to wield such a magnificent blade, so Mark, Kent and Sain had to give her an on-the-go pep talk. This consisted of Kent pointing out that the sword obviously chose her, as none of the others could even touch the blade, Mark pointing out the strategic uses of the blade (its light weight, sharp pointy end, and the lightshow she could put on with it), and Sain pointing out how she could probably get all the guys with such a cool sword. At this, Kent told Sain to shut up, and Mark whapped him a good one on the back of the head.

The group made it back to the main path through the mountains and started making headway. As they walked, they examined the woods around them, because no one was in the mood to talk. They passed by a few old, rundown structures, and Sain voiced his curiosity. "What are all these structures from?" Lyn looked curious as well, and Kent was nonchalant. Mark had an answer though, and he gave it.

"Long ago there lived a King of Bern named Gregor. To this day, he is probably the greatest Bernese King to have ever lived. He was wise, kind and powerful. In those days tensions were high between Lycia and Bern. Gregor knew that this mountain chain was one of the greatest weaknesses in Bern's defenses. More to the point, it was also an area of destitute poverty. So, Gregor decided to bolster the defenses in the area by creating a series of forts. This provided protection for the area, and provided jobs for people in need of work. It also scared off the local bandit groups, and the area prospered for awhile."

Lyn and Sain looked intrigued by the lore, and impressed by Mark's knowledge. Lyn made motions for Mark to continue the tale, and so he did.

"Unfortunately, Gregor died soon after the project was complete. He had managed to resolve the tension between Bern and Lycia, so there was no need for defenses in the mountains. Gregor's successor didn't want to be burdened with maintaining a number of forts in a mountainous area, and so he turned off the funding for supplies for the forts. The forts were consequently abandoned, and fell into disrepair. Without these forts and the men patrolling them, the bandits had nothing to fear and moved back in force. The area has been destitute ever since."

Lyn looked angry that a king would abandon his people to the mercy of bandits. "That's cruel! Leaving these people in poverty and at the mercy of thugs to save a few thousand gold! That's exactly the sort of man who should not be in charge!"

Sain didn't seem to care about the plight of the locals, but he was curious about Mark's knowledge. "Where did you learn that?"

Mark shrugged. "Military academy. I had an aptitude for both sorcery and strategy, so I went to a school where both were taught. Gregor was a good king, but before that he was a brilliant General. We studied him because of that, and this little tidbit was in a biography about him." Sain nodded his understanding and the group continued moving.

A few minutes later, the group stopped to give the horses a short break. Lyn sidled over to Mark and asked "Hey, Mark? There's a question I've been meaning to ask you about for awhile. Back at the shrine, when you were asking the lady for details, you only moved into your 'preparation mode' upon learning that there was someone in trouble at the shrine. What was that about?"

Mark took a moment to formulate an answer. "Lyn, I know that shrine and what it symbolizes means a lot to you. Normally, I would have been glad to help you protect such a magnificent and dangerous weapon. But, remember what I said about you being a leader now. Sometimes, you will have to make tough decisions. A good leader always puts those who serve him/her before any material thing. As your tactician, I could not in good conscious advocate a plan to put Kent, Sain, you and me in danger to rescue a building and weapon. However, a human in need of rescuing is always worth the danger."

Lyn looked thoughtful as she contemplated Mark's words. "I think I understand. I've never been used to being responsible for other people before. When I was growing up, my father started showing me the ropes of being a leader, but I never actually had to make any important decisions. I guess I still have a lot to learn."

"It's okay Lyn. You kinda had the revelation sprung on you. Besides, I have some experience being responsible for other people, and I'll be glad to share what I know with you. I had a question for you as well. Before we turned onto that smaller path and headed for the shrine, Kent was talking to you about something, and you didn't look happy. Care to share?"

Lyn looked confused for a second, before she realized what Mark was talking about. "Oh, that. Kent was telling me about some of the etiquette expected of ladies of the court. He wasn't being condescending or anything, but it made me realize that my grandfather is going to expect me to stay in Caelin, and I'm not sure I want to."

Mark realized the problem. "You're a lady of the plains. Your customs are not those of Caelin. I would suggest this- give your father a chance. If he truly has had a change of heart, then he will respect your customs and not try to shape you in his own image. If he doesn't respect your heritage, well, there's nothing tying you to Caelin, so there's no reason for you to stay if you don't want to."

Lyn considered that for a second, before giving Mark a hug. "Thanks, Mark. You always give sound advice. I'll try that."

Mark looked both scared and delighted to have Lyn hugging him. On the one hand, he didn't have any experience with girls, and didn't know the proper protocol in this situation. Should he hug her back? Should he let go of her first, or wait for her to indicate she wanted to move away? These and other questions swirled around his head. On the other hand, Lyn was beautiful, and she initiated the hug. Maybe he should just enjoy it while it lasted.

Lyn looked reluctant to move away, but she did eventually. "We should probably keep moving."

Mark nodded. "Kent, Sain! Saddle up the horses, I want to get to a town by nightfall."

About two hours later, Mark called to Lyn. "Lyn, it will be getting dark soon. We should stop for the night. Is there a nearby village on the map?"

Lyn looked at the map and nodded. "The village of Terenstor. It's not far. We can find cheap lodging there and get back on the road tomorrow morning."

Sain looked excited. "Ah, excellent. A whole night with the ladies. Hey Kent, think I should go for a blonde or a brunette?"

Before Kent could formulate an answer, Mark interceded. "Neither, Sain. When we get accommodations we are all immediately going to bed. After this, there's no telling the next time we'll get a decent night's sleep. We're going to make the most of it."

Kent and Lyn nodded their agreement while Sain looked put out. Ignoring him, the group header towards the village of Terenstor. After about a half hour of traveling, the group rounded a bend, before stopping in shock. Smoke could be seen rising in the distance. Mark asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Lyn, is that the village of Terenstor?"

"Yeah, yeah it is."

"Maybe they're having a bonfire." One could never accuse Sain of being pessimistic.

"Yeah, or maybe the village is burning." On the other hand, one could often accuse Kent of being pessimistic.

"There may still be something we can do to help. We stick together until we find out what's going on. To the gates!"

The group sprang into action. This consisted of Kent and Sain spurning their horses forward while Mark and Lyn held on tight. As they got closer to the town, Mark could make out a number of humanoid shapes, but he couldn't tell whether they were villagers were bandits. He hoped at least some of them were villagers, because there were a lot of shapes.

A guard upon the wall spotted them as they rode up to the entrance. A voice called down "Halt. In the name of the Ganelon bandits, you will hand over any valuables you have.

Mark thought this was a little premature of the bandit. They were on horses, after all, and not in the city. All he had to do was give the order, and Kent and Sain would simply lead their horses away. However, he had heard a commotion, some sort of squabble in the east, and his gut was telling him to check it out. "Kent, Sain, lead your horses to the east. I want to know what's going on over there."

Kent and Sain obliged, and the two horses ran over a few dumb bandits who thought it'd be a good idea to stand in the way of charging cavalry. As they came around what appeared to be the townhouse, Mark got a good look at the commotion. A few bandits were circling what appeared to be a pegasus and her rider. The rider was a young girl, with pink hair and a fair face. Mark had a feeling he would have trouble keeping Sain away from her. She was holding a lance, but seemed almost afraid to use it. The pegasus was white, armored, and incredibly graceful, and seemed to be keeping the bandits from attacking her rider. A rider that Lyn recognized.

"Florina! What are you doing here?"

Her shout caused a chain reaction. The bandits turned to examine this new threat, taking an eye off the pegasus. The pegasus saw an opportunity, and performed what Mark guessed was the equestrian equivalent of martial arts. She lowered her head before sticking it between her rider's legs, tossing the girl onto her back, and using her wings to keep the rider on, before charging at the bandits no longer paying attention to her. She bowled them over before continuing in the direction of the group who knew her rider's name. Meanwhile, said rider was screaming her head off at being manhandled in such a way, and when the pegasus came to a stop in front of Lyn, the rider promptly fell off the pegasus into a heap on the ground.

Mark shook his head to get rid of the image of a pegasus karate-chopping a bandit to death, and asked Lyn "You know this girl?"

Lyn nodded. "This is Florina, and her pegasus Huey. She and I have been friends since I was eight years old. Florina, what are you doing here?"

Mark had to hide a blush as he realized the pegasus he was referring to as a 'she' in his inner monologue was actually most likely male. He didn't know of any female called Huey. He drew himself out of his embarrassment to hear Florina's explanation.

"I came looking for you. I'm almost done with my training. Pretty soon I'll be a pegasus rider of Ilia like my sisters. Anyway, part of the training includes practical experience with either the army or a mercenary group. I had come to find you, because I was rather afraid of having to work with a bunch of men. I heard about your village. Oh, Lyn, I'm so sorry."

Mark was rather confused, because Florina was the one crying, and Lyn was consoling her when it was Lyn's family who had been killed. Still, he had a feeling it would have been a bad idea to mention this out loud, so he chalked it up to them being female. He turned around, and saw the bandits that Huey hadn't crushed bearing down on them.

"Uh, Lyn, I'm happy your friend found you okay, but could we save the reunion for after we deal with Dumb and Dumber here?"

Before Lyn could respond, the bandit Mark had dubbed 'Dumb' spoke. "Hey, you there. That girl landed on us, and her horse just crushed some of my men. No one does that to the Ganelon without paying for it. Normally they'd do it with their lives, but in this case, her looks should suffice."

Lyn moved to stand in front of Florina, and spoke sharply. "If you buffoons think that you can rape someone as payment for an accident, you're mistaken. As for the men Huey killed, you were surrounding them and making threatening motions. You brought this on yourselves. If you want them, you go through us."

Dumb leered at Lyn, and nodded once to the bandits behind him. "That can be arranged. Lads, I want both of the ladies alive, but you can kill the men." As he spoke, more bandits appeared. Some converged on the group, while others went to block the alleyways to prevent escape. Dumb then proved he was the leader of the bunch by running to stand behind the others.

Mark turned to the newest member. "Florina, is it? You're a pegasus rider, you say? Will you stand and fight with us?" Florina nodded once, and Mark started issuing orders. "Good. Now from what I can see, the villagers are holed up in two places. Some are in the townhouse, and there are others in what appears to be a granary behind that wall. Florina, I want you to hop on Huey and fly over there. Ask them for whatever support they can give. Lyn, you head into the townhouse and do the same thing. I don't want either of you engaging the enemy by yourself. Florina, watch out for archers." Florina and Lyn nodded before setting out to do as ordered.

Mark turned to Kent and Sain. "Alright, Kent, head over to that alleyway. That would be a good place to bottleneck them so we don't get overwhelmed. Sain, you clear that half of the courtyard, I'll clear this one, then we help Kent.

Kent wheeled his horse and charged toward the bandit protected the alleyway Mark had indicated. Said bandit cringed in fear as Kent bore down on him, but he was quickly put out of his misery. Sain, meanwhile, drew his sword and galloped into the middle of the group of bandits on his side and started laying waste to them. Mark chose a more subtle approach. He drew his own sword and started fending off the bandits nearest him. As he hoped, they started to surround him, and when he was in the middle of a huge group of them, he let loose with what he affectionately called the concussion blast. Basically, it was a huge wave of raw power emanating from a central point (in this case, Mark). It effectively neutralized all the bandits in a 30 ft. radius, which even eliminated some of the ones pestering Sain.

Sain seemed to have his opponents well in hand, so Mark turned to help Kent stave off the rush of bandits coming down the alleyway, when suddenly an arrow whizzed past his ear. It came from behind him, and he prepared a shield as he turned around to assess the new threat. What he saw was Lyn jogging towards him with a young man in tow. The man had wavy brown hair, a blue shirt, shoulder pads, and he was carrying a bow. Everything clicked into place in Mark's head. He turned back to the alleyway, and sure enough, the arrow he saw was in the neck of one of the bandits accosting Kent. As Lyn and the stranger pulled up, he voiced his appreciation.

"Lyn, it seems you've succeeding in garnering some help." He turned to the stranger. "That was a nice shot, especially since I'm guessing you were running while you made it. Care to introduce us Lyn?"

"This is Wil. He's a traveler like us. The villagers have done him some kindness, and he wished to repay them by helping us defeat these bandits. Wil, this is Mark, our tactician. He's also a very good sage."

Wil was apparently very hyper. "Nice to meet you Mark! I'm Wil! I'm an archer. I can hit things with my bow. Just tell me what you need me to shoot, and I'll shoot it. By the way, thanks for the compliment, and yea, I was running and shooting at the same time. This reminds me of that one time when I-" Mark cut him off.

"Sorry Wil, I'm sure it's a good story, but later would be a better time. Head over to that alleyway and help Kent and Sain keep the bandits back. Kent's the one in red, Sain is in green."

Wil ran off. As Mark turned to Lyn, Florina came flying back. "I'm sorry Mark, but none of the villagers were trained in combat. They did, however, give me what coin they had as payment. I think it's about five thousand gold."

Mark looked conflicted. "Normally, I would not accept money from such poor villagers, but we are in need of supplies, and we have no cash. No matter. I will deal with that later. For now, you two head over to that alleyway." He pointed to one directly opposite the one where Kent, Sain and Wil were holding position. "Make sure no one tries to sneak up behind us. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to get a better look of the battlefield. Florina, stay aground for now."

The pair ran off to cover the back entrance to the courtyard, and Mark ran inside the nearest building and climbed up to the roof. From here, he could see the entire battlefield, and he also had a good view of the rest of the city. The other end of the alley Kent, Sain and Wil were blocking opened into another courtyard, and Mark could see the bandit called Dumb at the back, sending more men into the alleyway. He looked around, and saw a few bandits slinking towards the alley Lyn and Florina were guarding. He quickly cast a nifty little spell and spoke in his normal voice. "Lyn, Florina, a couple bandits are coming your way. Stand to either side of the alley way, and when I tell you, jump out at them." Lyn and Florina did so, but Mark could see their confusion when they saw he wasn't standing right behind them. He waved to them from the rooftop and explained. "It's a neat little spell that allows me to target a place and redirect my senses there. I can see, hear, and smell what you can, and when I talk it's as if I was standing right next to you. This way I don't have to shout and give away our little surprise attack."

The two simultaneously adopted expressions of understanding, just as Mark saw the bandits enter the alleyway. He risked a quick glance at the others to make sure they were okay before turning back. "Okay, they've entered the alleyway. On my signal, Lyn, jump out and surprise them. Florina, follow suit, but make sure Lyn is in front of you. She has a sword and you have a lance, I want them attacking her. In three, two, one, now."

As he said this Lyn shouted and jumped into the alleyway. The look on the first bandit's face almost made Mark laugh, but he kept his composure. Florina gave her own cry, which paled in comparison to Lyn's, and jumped into the alleyway as well. The bandits were caught by surprise just as Mark intended, and the two girls made short work of them. Mark kept an eye on their progress, and every once in awhile he would turn and throw a fireball into the other alleyway.

When Lyn and Florina finished off the last bandit, Mark directed them over to the other alleyway where Kent, Sain, and Wil were still fighting. This alleyway was long, and it was still filled with bandits. Kent had a cut on one arm, and had fallen back. Sain was in front with his sword. Kent was behind him and off to one side, using his lance to poke at any bandit in range. Wil was standing on some steps to the other side of Sain, and was firing deeper into the alleyway. When Lyn and Florina showed up, Mark realized the alleyway was too crowded. He instructed everyone to back up, and to form a semi-circle around the alleyway and deal with the bandits one at a time. Meanwhile, he instructed Florina to fly back down the alleyway where she and Lyn had turned the tables on the bandit's failed surprise attack. From his vantage point, he could see an armory, and he had her take some of the money she had gotten from the villagers to buy a Javelin. He turned back to the others and examined the situation. From the roof, he could see that the thatch on the roofs was loose. He got an idea, and started preparing a spell.

It took him awhile to complete the spell, but in the end he got the result he wanted. The thatch was completely separated from the wood, and it started sliding down the roof. Eventually, it fell off entirely and into the alleyway. The building was two stories high, and thatch is rather heavy. All down the alleyway, bandits fell over as the thatch struck them on the head. By the time it was over, Florina was back from the armory.

Mark instructed everyone to charge to the other end of the alley. Only a few bandits beside the leader were left in the courtyard. They all charged as well, and when infantry met cavalry, cavalry won. The leader looked scared as Kent, Sain, Florina, Lyn, and Wil approached.

Meanwhile, Mark was jumping rooftops to get in a better position. He hadn't issued any orders concerning the leader, but he lost sight of the courtyard as he moved. When he could see it again, the leader was dead and Lyn had a slight scratch on her leg. Mark closed his eyes and concentrated, and when he opened them he was back on the ground. Everyone looked surprised to see him there, as they all knew he had just been on the roof. He shrugged.

"What? You've never seen someone teleport before?"

A/N: Chapter 5 done. Longest chapter so far, I'm proud of myself. On an unrelated note, I'm trying to develop Mark's magical abilities. I want him to be a good sage who uses magic in unthought-of ways. Let me know if you like it or if you think I'm overdoing it.


	6. The Wild

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N-to Cozman10-glad to hear you liked the fight scene. It was kinda funny, because you mentioned learning more about Mark. When I posted chapter 5, I had chapter 8 written. In the next chapter, 7, I do go into a bit of Mark's past. I cover what he did after Military academy, and why he's on the run, but not his life before military academy. And to answer your other question, I do plan on doing Eliwood's story as well, but I will do a filler chapter or three on the in-between year. Of course, Mark isn't a novice tactician, so the whole 'traveling to gain experience' excuse doesn't work. I'm thinking of manufacturing my own mini-plotline for the in-between years, where you'll learn more about Mark's past. Stay tuned for chapter 7 tomorrow to learn more about him.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 6: The Wild

After making sure all the bandits in the courtyard were incapacitated, Mark issued more orders. "Lyn, take Florina back to the armory. Buy a spare sword and lance for both Sain and Kent, and get Wil another bow." Lyn and Florina ran off and Mark turned to the others.

"Wil, you know the villagers best. Go to the inn and see if you can book us three rooms. Kent and Sain can share, Lyn and Florina can share, and you and I can share."

Wil proved exactly how hyper he was. "Sir, yes sir! I'll ask for the nicest rooms available. The inn in this village is actually really good. They have soft beds, good food, and good entertainment. In fact-" As he was talking, he was heading towards the inn, moving away from Mark, Kent and Sain. Mark wasn't sure if he thought they were following him, or if he was talking to himself. Either way, Mark just shook his head in resignation before turning to Kent and Sain.

"Move through the village and make sure there are no more bandits. Don't split up for anything. I'm going to try to find the chief of the village, and see if there's a jail here where we can put the bandits who are still alive." Kent and Sain took off, and Mark headed towards the town hall.

He found the man in charge of the city quickly enough, and squared away the fate of the remaining bandits. The village didn't actually have a prison big enough to hold all the bandits left alive. One of the villages jokingly suggested having the bandits draw straws for who would get to live, but eventually, a decision was made. The leader would send a runner to Bulgar, asking for a patrol to come pick the bandits up. The bandits would be brought back to Bulgar and face justice there. In the meantime, the bandits would have to suffer with being crowded into a small holding cell.

Mark left the proceedings before they were finished, but not before receiving the leader's heartfelt thanks for saving the village. Mark headed back to the inn to see if Wil was successful, and on the way he met Lyn and Florina. Their arms were laden with the weaponry Mark had asked them to buy. He relieved them of some of the load, and the three walked to the inn.

When they got there, they found Wil was indeed successful. He had managed to get all three rooms Mark had asked for, and each room had two beds, so no one would have to sleep in the same bed. Mark had a suspicious feeling Kent would be overjoyed by this news. He directed Lyn and Florina to follow him upstairs to drop the weaponry off in his room. When the three got back downstairs, Wil had found a table for six in the corner, and Kent and Sain had returned. They reported nothing amiss in the rest of the village, and everyone gathered around Wil's table to discuss their next move.

Mark started the conversation. "First things first. Florina, Wil, the four of us" he indicated himself, Lyn, Kent and Sain "are on a mission. Lyn has family in Lycia, in the province of Caelin. Said family happens to be royalty, and at the moment there is a small inheritance dispute. To make a long story short, Lyn's life is in danger, as are ours by extension. We could use all the help we could get. Will you join us?"

Florina answered first. "Lyn is my friend. If her life is in danger, I will do what I can to save it. Besides, I need some practical experience if I want to join the pegasus order of Ilia. Maybe the masters of the order will accept this, and I won't have to work with some strange mercenary group. I'm in."

Mark nodded at her in thanks, and turned to Wil. The archer looked excited. "Well, I'm at a bit of a crossroads at the moment. I said earlier these villagers had been kind to me. A while back, I was accosted by bandits on the road, and they stole all my money. The innkeeper here allowed me to stay the night free of charge, and I had planned on working here for free for awhile to pay off that debt. The innkeeper considered it paid when I helped save the village, but I'm still without money at the moment. I'd be willing to fight for Lyndis' Legion in return for food and shelter."

Mark smiled and ignored the whole 'Lyndis' Legion thing'. He'd worry about that later. "Excellent. That makes six now. Second issue, traveling. Florina, I know pegasi are proud creatures. Would Huey be willing to carry both you and another?" Florina nodded, and Mark continued "Okay, then we have two horses and a pegasus, and they can all carry two people each. I'd prefer more horses though, because we have a good deal of supplies to carry and no wagon. Lyn, Florina, how much of that five thousand gold do you have left?"

Lyn had the money in a small bag she was carrying. "It looks to be about three thousand now. Will that be enough?"

Before Mark could answer, Florina interjected. "I have some money on me. About another three thousand."

This made Mark smile. "Good, six thousand gold is more than enough for one horse, and may be enough for two. That should be plenty. Wil, how good are you at haggling?"

Wil shrugged "I'm not bad. I once got a steel bow for three hundred gold. That's less than half of what they normally go for."

Mark handed him all the cash. "Good. Take this and buy us as many horses as you can for as cheap as possible. I'd prefer two, but if you can only get one, that's okay. These villagers have already been kind to us."

After Wil left, Mark turned to the rest. "Okay, so next item is travel route. I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of these 'Ganelon' bandits. Continuing through the mountains could prove dangerous. On the other hand, we're going to have a serious fight on our hands when we get to Caelin. We could probably use the experience. What do you guys think?"

Lyn spoke first. "If we choose a route out of the mountains, the bandits will not follow. Instead, they will come down on this village in revenge, and I can't let that happen. We are more than a match for these thugs. We will go through the mountains."

Everyone agreed with that, and Sain spoke next. "On a related note, these bandits may have some ill-gotten goods on them. They may also have said goods stored in hideouts. If we can find those hideouts, we can put the goods to better use than the bandits without causing trouble for any honest, hardworking citizens."

Mark looked impressed at Sain's idea, and started to realize why the man was made a knight. "Lyn and Sain are right. We cannot abandon the villagers to the mercy of the bandits, and their supplies could prove useful to us. We will continue through the mountains to reach Lycia."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Florina yawned. Mark noticed, and said "Alright, that's enough for tonight. Enjoy some downtime, but I want everyone to head to bed in an hour. Alone, Sain. We leave early tomorrow, and we will travel for most of the day."

The group split up. Sain and Kent went to the bar for a drink. Florina went outside to spend some time with Huey. Lyn decided to go with her. Mark retired to his room. Wil still hadn't come back from buying horses, so Mark chose which bed he would sleep in. He settled down and pulled a scroll out of his rucksack. It was a dissertation on ways to use fire to defeat a sorcerer using water. Mark was fascinated by the ways in which one could turn such a glaring weakness into a surprising strength.

He had been reading for about half an hour when there was a knock on the door. He called "Come in." and the door opened. It was Lyn. She had changed out of her usual green clothing, and was wearing a white robe that swirled around her ankles. Mark thought she looked beautiful, framed in the doorway, but he didn't say so. Instead, he asked "Is there something I can help you with?"

She walked into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Yeah, actually. I'm not sure if you picked up on this, but I'm worried about Florina. She had a bad experience when she was younger, and now she's incredibly shy around all men. I'd appreciate it if you could try to keep her away from Sain. She should be okay around everyone else, but he-"

Mark cut her off. "I understand. I had noticed she was somewhat scared when I talked to her, but I chalked it up to her brush with the bandits. I'll do my best to keep him away from her. On an unrelated note, is Wil back?"

Lyn nodded. "Yeah, he managed to get two horses for us. I think that should be plenty, don't you."

Mark nodded back. "Yeah. I'll probably have you ride with Florina. That way I can justify not having Huey carry supplies along with humans, and Florina would probably be most comfortable. Everyone else will have their own horse, and each horse can carry a quarter of the supplies. That should do nicely."

Lyn looked like she was almost afraid to ask the next question. "I've been meaning to ask you about that. These villagers are poor, and yet you took five thousand gold from them. Don't you think they need that money?"

Mark sighed. "Normally, I would not accept such money from a village like this. Five thousand gold is a lot to them. However, there are six of us now, and we have a long journey ahead. We're going to need more than good hunting skills to survive. That might take care of food, but this journey will be perilous. We'll need to restock on weapons several times, we'll need to pay for lodging at inns, we'll need to pay for maps so we know where we're going, and we may even have to pay tolls. At this point, I can't really afford to turn down money."

Lyn seemed to understand, because she smiled at his explanation. "I knew it wasn't simple greed. You are far too good a man for that to be the explanation."

Mark wasn't sure whether he should be insulted that she even considered he would take a poor man's money out of greed, or flattered that she had called him 'a good man.' He settled with "Uh, thanks? I think."

Lyn giggled. She then stood up and stretched, and Mark had to avert his eyes to avoid staring. She kissed him on the cheek and said goodnight before walking out. After that, Mark's brain was shot. He tried to return to reading his scroll, but he couldn't get his mind off the fact that she had kissed his cheek. Her lips had felt soft and warm. He fell asleep imagining what it would be like to kiss her on those lips.

The next day, Mark successfully put the kiss out of his mind. He went downstairs for breakfast, and found he was the first one up. He ordered a cup of tea from the innkeeper and waited for the rest of the troop.

After only half an hour, everyone was up and about. Mark called everyone around and explained what he had told Lyn last night. "Okay, travel arrangements. Florina, you're going to travel with Lyn. I want you on the ground for the most part, but every once in a while I'll ask you to take to the air and do some scouting. Everyone else will have their own horse, but Huey will not be carrying supplies. My horse will carry the spare tents and what little cooking implements we have. Wil, your horse will carry extra water. Kent, your horse will carry the spare food, and Sain, your horse will carry the spare weapons. Everyone understand? Good, let's start packing."

Everyone moved to do his bidding. After another half hour of saddling the horses, carrying down possessions from the rooms and securing them, and watching Florina convince Huey not to go postal on Sain (who had been accosting Florina), the group was ready to go. They left with Sain on his horse in front and Huey in the back to prevent any confrontations, even though Mark was secretly hoping Huey would simply fly over everyone else and relieve himself on Sain. It didn't happen, and nor did anything else out of the ordinary throughout the day.

The group made good progress, and about an hour before sundown, the group came upon one of the ruins that were all that remained of a golden age. Mark called a halt, and said "We will stay the night here."

Sain looked aghast. "What? Here? This fortress is old, it smells bad, and there's no roof. What if it rains tonight?"

"Then we get wet. There is no village nearby that we could get to before dark. We are spending the night outdoors any way you look at it. And this position is defensible. A group of bandits has been following us for awhile. They aren't that far behind, and they will catch up before long. I'd rather be here than in an open field somewhere."

Everyone else nodded and trooped into the fort. Mark immediately issued orders. "Alright, drop everything and take a break. Kent, Sain, you're on first watch. Lyn and Florina can take next watch, and Wil and I will take last watch. I want those on watch at the top of those stairs. It's a good vantage point and close enough that you can shout and wake us up if you spot the enemy. Everyone else, get some rest."

Kent and Sain moved off without complaint. Or rather, Kent moved off without complaint, and dragged Sain with him, who wanted to spend the night next to Lyn and Florina. The girls, Mark and Wil found places on the ground that were dry and relatively soft, and settled down. However, before they could go to sleep, something took them by surprise.

"Um, excuse me."

Mark sat up with his hand on his sword and looked around. A young woman was coming out of the shadows. She was fairly good looking with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. Mark could see that she seemed to be favoring her right leg slightly. He motioned for her to continue.

"My name is Natalie. I'm from the village of Terenstor. I'm looking for my husband Dorcas. He left to find work, and hasn't returned for seven weeks now. I worry for him. I have a picture of him here. I was wondering if any of you have seen him?"

Mark looked at the picture and shook his head. "Sorry, no. Are you alright? You seem to be favoring your right leg. Are you hurt?"

Natalie smiled at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark thought he saw Lyn narrow her eyes, but he might have imagined it. Natalie spoke, "Yes, but it isn't anything a vulnerary can cure. My left leg has been diseased as long as I can remember. There is a village close to Terenstor, and a doctor there has some new treatment we think might heal my leg, but it's expensive. Dorcas left to find work to make money to pay for this treatment."

None of the others recognized the picture of Dorcas, so Natalie thanked them and moved back to where she had been resting. Suddenly, a shout came from the lookout position.

Mark turned around and saw Kent and Sain racing towards them. Kent shouted "They're here! The bandits have caught up to us!"

Mark frowned. "Already? I thought it would take them longer. No matter, we will outlast them behind these walls. Kent, Sain, head to the main entrance. Stay there and make sure no one gets through. Do not abandon your post. Lyn, Florina, head to the eastern wall. There's a back door there. Make sure no one comes through. Natalie, stay here. Wil, you're with me. We're going up to the lookout. There's a wall on the west side that's weak. They may try to break it down and come at us from three sides. From the lookout, we can fire over the wall at anyone trying to break it down, and keep an eye on everyone else at the same time. Go!"

Everyone headed to their positions. Mark and Wil raced up the steps, and when they got there they saw five bandits already setting to work on the western wall. This wall wasn't as weak as the wall at the shrine, and so it would take a lot more than one stroke of an axe to break it down, but against five axes it wouldn't last long.

Mark and Wil immediately set to work. Wil drew his bow and an arrow, took aim and fired in under two seconds. The shot was fairly accurate, striking one of the bandits in the stomach. He fell to the ground and his fellows stopped their work to find the archer.

Mark made a quick decision, and cast a weak chain spell. It was a neat spell that struck one of the bandits, and as Mark concentrated, the spell jumped to the other bandits. It was a lighting spell, and with enough power, it could kill all those it hurt. However, that took a lot of power, and it would leave Mark incapacitated for at least three hours. As the tactician, he couldn't allow that. So, he only used enough power to stun each bandit for a few seconds at most. This turned out to be alright, because in that time Wil took out two more, one with a headshot and the other with an arrow to the chest. The other two recovered, and decided to make a strategic retreat.

Mark instructed Wil to keep an eye on that wall and make sure the bandits didn't come back while he checked on the others. As he moved along the broken battlements, he saw that Kent and Sain were holding their own just fine. He turned to Lyn and Florina, and something caught his eye.

He cast the sense redirection spell that he had cast in the battle at the village. (He was going to refer to it as the nifty spell from that point forward, because sense redirection spell was too long.) He spoke to Lyn about his findings. "Lyn, there's a bandit coming your way who looks an awful lot like that picture Natalie showed us. If this Dorcas couldn't find honest work, he might have been desperate enough to join these bandits. When you see him, tell him Natalie is here. It might get him to change his mind.

Lyn nodded, and as she did, she saw the man called Dorcas. Before he could attack her, she called out to him. Mark was still channeling the nifty spell, so he heard the whole conversation.

"Hey, hey you! Are you Dorcas?"

The man paused and looked at Lyn. "And what if I am?"

Lyn pointed behind her, in Natalie's general direction. "Your wife is in this fortress. She's looking for you. You want her to find you like this?"

Mark's suggestion worked like a charm. Dorcas looked shocked to hear his wife was nearby. He looked down at his axe, before looking back at Lyn. "You're right. I was so desperate to get her help I didn't realize what I was doing to others. I am with them no more. My axe is yours."

Mark told Lyn to tell Dorcas to stay with them. No one was at the west wall, and Wil was sniping any bandits that Kent and Sain weren't cleaning up. Back at the east wall, Mark saw a hilarious sight. Florina had a, _unique_ way of dealing with her opponents. Huey would flare his wings and get the opponent to drop his guard. Florina would then poke the bandit in the stomach with her lance. Then, the bandit would fall to the ground, and Huey would sit on him. Mark was starting to realize that Huey was very 'hooves on.' Huey would rise, the bandit would be a pancake on the ground, and Huey and Florina would repeat on the next bandit to come their way. Meanwhile, Dorcas was simply walking up to his old buddies and patting them on the back with his axe.

Mark turned to Lyn and watched as she was surrounded by three opponents. He prepared his chain lightening spell to help her, but waited to see what she would do. As the bandit to her left swung at her, she ducked and rolled forward. she stood up face-to-face with the bandit in front of her. She was to close for him to bring his axe into play, and so dispatched him easily. She turned around and saw the other two bandits converging on her. She stepped to her right as the two bandits swung their axes over their heads and brought them down where she had been standing. This was a mistake, because the first bandit brought his axe down on top of the second bandit's axe, breaking it.

Lyn now faced one armed and one unarmed opponent. She made good use of this advantage, using the flat of her blade to strike at the armed bandit, who was still trying to separate his axe from the ground. He was knocked unconcious, and Lyn turned to see the last bandit slowly backing away from her. Before she could attack, the bandit turned tail and fled. Lyn shrugged before looking for more enemies.

The bandits didn't last long against the tenacity of the group. Pretty soon, the man who appeared to be in charge got fed up waiting in the back and approached the east wall. He saw Dorcas laying into his fellow bandits and got angry.

"You traitorous dog! I knew you couldn't be trusted!" He charged at Dorcas with his axe raised. Dorcas prepared to defend himself, and Lyn prepared to help him defend himself, but it proved to be unnecessary. As Mark watched and laughed, Huey took to the air and flew across the battlefield. He ran right over the bandit before turning around and coming back. He landed on top of the bandit, who was now on the ground, with one hoof between the bandit's legs. The bandit's face turned green, and Lyn let him suffer a full five minutes before putting him out of his misery.

At the same time, Kent, Sain and Wil were mopping up the rest of the bandits assaulting the main entrance. Pretty soon there were no enemies in sight, and as Mark descended the stairs, he said to Wil,

"I love pegasi."

A/N-Chapter 6 done. These chapters keep getting longer. Pretty soon I may have to take more than one day to write a chapter, but we'll see. On another note, I've decided to develop Huey the pegasus's personality, sort of as the comic relief. Let me know if you like it or if you think I'm overdoing it.


	7. The Annoyance

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N-to Cozman10-more on Mark's life before he met Lyn coming up.

to the magebear-I thank you for your informative review, and I'll try to address all the points you brought up. First-Sain. I've always thought the game introduces him as a jerk, and he gets better with time. I don't really develop Sain's personality myself, so this is a non-issue. Sorry if you wanted to see more of him. On the subject of the language, I have tried to stay true to the times, but I'm no expert on medieval terminology, so I appreciate your suggestions. As for the mani katti, I don't remember the scene from in-game that well. You may be right, but I stated before I was making minor changes to the story. Consider this one of them. And as for Lyn, I don't really know how I've made her seem inexperienced. I figured in most of the fight scenes I've made her out to be competent. Could you explain that more? Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

To Darkforce222, glad you like the story. On the matter of Mark having low magical stamina, I was more shooting for Mark realizing that if he did everything himself, no one else would gain experience. Thus, he only participates to turn the tide of battle. But, if you like to read the story your way, please feel free. I don't plan on Mark actually using a huge burst of magic, and if he does, it will be near the end of the story when theoretically his powers have had time to grow. On the subject of Huey, I always kinda imagined him as very protective of Florina, so I decided to write him like that and include a little humor in the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 7: The Annoyance

After all the bandits were finished off, everyone gathered in the alcove where Natalie was resting. Mark took a moment to congratulate everyone, before doing introductions.

"Team, this is Dorcas, Natalie's husband. He saw the light on the battlefield and agreed to lend us his aid against the bandits. Dorcas, the girls are Lyn and Florina, the archer is Wil, the two knights are Kent and Sain, and I'm Mark." Dorcas nodded at everyone as they were pointed out.

Mark then issued new orders. "Okay, everyone, the watch stands. Kent and Sain will start, then Lyn and Florina, then Wil and I. Dorcas, you're wife hasn't seen you in seven weeks. Go cater to her every whim."

Kent moved back to the watch post, but Sain protested. "Oh, come on Mark. We just defeated the bandits. Why are we going back on watch?"

"Do you really think that was the entirety of the Ganelon force? That was a scout team sent to test our strength. The next time will be the real force, and if they come tonight and catch us unaware, we'll be in deep trouble. The watch stands." Mark managed to keep his voice down, which was good because Florina had already fallen asleep.

Sain didn't look happy about this, but he didn't complain any longer as he moved to his post. Mark turned to the others.

"Good job today people. Get some rest. Lyn, Kent will wake you after three hours. You and Florina take a three hour watch and then wake Wil and I. We'll get everyone up after our shift is done." Lyn nodded, and moved next to Florina and cleared a space to settle down.

Mark moved to the base of the steps to the lookout for his own makeshift bed. He had settled down and gotten comfortable when Dorcas came over to him.

"Excuse me Mark. Can I have a minute of your time?"

Mark sat up. "Yeah, what is it?"

"I was just talking to Natalie, and we've reached a decision. I'm going to take her home to the village tonight and return. I wish to lend you my aid." Dorcas had nodded at Natalie as he spoke. Mark turned and saw her looking at them, and nodding. Mark turned back to Dorcas.

"Well, I'd love to have you, but are you sure this is a good idea? We have not the money to pay you a wage, and I don't know how long this quest will take. I can't guarantee you'll have the money to get Natalie the treatment she needs if you travel with us."

Dorcas appeared to have already considered this. "I am willing to take that chance. Natalie and I owe you a debt for saving me from the path I was walking. I would like to repay you, and this is the only way I know how. I know you're going to help Lyn with something, and hopefully when you succeed you'll have money left over. If not, oh well."

"You're sure?" Dorcas nodded, and Mark shrugged. "Well then I'd be glad to have you. The road ahead will be dangerous, and we will need all the help we can get. Welcome aboard."

Dorcas thanked him and crawled back to Natalie. Before Mark could settle down, Lyn came over to him. "Hey Mark, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, name it."

Lyn looked over at Florina. "I was just talking to Florina, and she wanted me to ask you to switch partners with her.

Mark looked confused. "You mean I would take watch with you and she would take watch with Wil? And I thought Florina was asleep."

Lyn nodded. "She wasn't, and that is what she wanted. Is that okay?"

Mark didn't mind, but he had paired Lyn with Florina for a reason. "I thought she was shy around men. Wouldn't she be more comfortable with you?"

Lyn shook her head. "That's what I thought at first, but she wanted to talk to Wil. She's hoping that spending time around an archer can help her face her fear of bows. And of all the guys here, Wil's the most harmless."

Mark shrugged. "I'm okay with it, and what do you mean Wil's the most harmless? What does she think I'd do to her?"

Lyn giggled at the offended look on his face. "It's not that she's afraid you'll hurt her, it's that you're kind of, powerful. Wil's good with a bow, but he's really genial. You're not a grouch or anything, you're just not so excited to be alive."

Mark calmed down at that. "I suppose that makes sense. Have you asked Wil if he's okay with this?"

Lyn nodded again. "Yeah, he's fine with it. Even said he'd take second watch instead of third."

Mark stood up. "Alright then, I'll let Kent know of the change in plans. Go get some sleep."

Lyn walked back to her spot and Mark climbed the steps and explained the change of plans to Kent. Kent nodded his understanding, and Mark climbed back down to his makeshift bed. He sat down and looked around. He wanted to lie down, but the last two times he tried someone needed something. He finally lay down and waited for whatever was going to happen. He half expected Huey to come over and lick him, but Huey stayed where he was. Mark drifted to sleep dreaming of pegasi sitting on bandits and then licking them.

He slept through the first changing of the guard, and had to be shaken awake by Wil when it was his turn for watch. He got up slowly, and looked over to see Florina waking Lyn. Florina seemed eager to explain to Lyn how her crash course in befriending male archers went, so Mark walked over and said "I'll meet you up there, okay?"

Lyn nodded and Florina smiled at Mark in thanks. He climbed the stairs to the lookout and examined his surroundings. The moon was full, so everything was illuminated, and Mark could clearly see the landscape around the fort. He detected no shadows suspiciously moving, and so relaxed and looked up at the stars. Lyn found him like that when she finally arrived ten minutes later.

"What are you doing?"

Mark jumped slightly but masked his surprise. "Oh, just gazing at the constellations. I had to take a class at the military academy. Some sorcerers believe that certain constellations are magical, and others believe that the positioning of the stars can affect magic, depending on the time of year, and thus, I had to take an astronomy course. We also learned how to use the stars to navigate. I found that part much more interesting."

Lyn was confused. "Why? It sounds fascinating to learn about how the stars affect magic."

Mark corrected her. "We weren't really learning much. Not much is known about the field. It's not even known if astronomy really does play a role in the potency of magic, or if the sorcerers who believe that are just crazy. It was interesting to a point, but I've always been practical. I'm much more interested in that which has proven uses. Besides, I may be a powerful sage, but I'm more interested in being an officer, and I find it more useful as a strategist to know the navigational uses of the stars than the magical ones."

"I guess that makes sense." Lyn walked away from Mark to look out to the east. Mark stayed silent for awhile, before asking her how Florina had done with Wil.

"Well, she survived. I think Wil might have been a little too cheery for her, but I do think it helped her fear of archers. She didn't flinch every time she looked at his bow at least. I think she figured that if all archers were as vibrant as Wil she has nothing to worry about." Lyn was smiling as she said this. Mark wasn't sure if it was genuine happiness for her friend or the idea of a squadron of archers as hyper as Wil. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

"Well, as long as she doesn't get complacent and completely ignore the danger an archer presents, I'm happy for her. Her fear of men will hopefully be overcome with time and enough distance away from Sain. If not, well, she always has your friendship."

Lyn giggled when Mark mentioned Sain, and nodded when he mentioned her. The two fell silent after awhile. Lyn looked like she wanted to ask Mark something else but was afraid of the answer. Mark noticed and called her on it.

"Lyn? Was there something else you wanted to ask?"

She nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, but, but don't feel you have to answer. I know you have secrets, I'm just curious, I mean-" Mark cut her off.

"It's okay Lyn. I trust you. I assume you want to know more about my past?" Lyn nodded once. "Well, I told you I was a mercenary. I didn't lie, I just didn't know you well enough to trust you with the whole truth. You see, I entered the military academy when I was twelve, and graduated four years later at the top of my class. My skills were noted by an Ilian Marquess. He contacted me and offered me a job as a personal advisor. I accepted. I was one of the youngest personal advisors to a Marquess ever. It didn't last long though."

"Why, what happened?" Lyn was leaning against the wall next to Mark and was watching him intently.

"The Marquess I worked for was a kind man. The people loved him and I enjoyed working for him. But, like every other politician, he had enemies, and his enemies were also mine by association. Anyway, when I was eighteen, one of these enemies got the better of him. He was at a political meeting, and was about to sign off on a controversial law that would raise the price of wheat. This would be good for farmers, which constituted the majority of the population, but bad for the wheat business. The wheat business was small, but its leaders were powerful and wealthy. When they could not convince the Marquess to reject the law, they killed him."

Lyn looked aghast at this. Mark guessed she might be wondering if she would have to constantly look over her shoulder if she ever became Marquess of Caelin. He continued. "The Marquess had a son, and that son took over the administration. The Marquess and his son had never gotten along, and his son ordered all the Marquess' advisors arrested. Rather than accepting this, I fought off the guards that came for me and ran."

Mark considered ending the story there, but Lyn had another question. "You act like you still have enemies. Do you think the son is still after you?"

Mark nodded. "I have a strong suspicion that the son was the enemy who hired the assassin that killed the Marquess. You see, the son was in league with the leaders of the wheat business. I know that for sure. I'm guessing they agreed to have the Marquess killed, so the son could take the throne and the wheat business could prosper at the expense of the peasants. I'm pretty sure all the other advisors knew too. That's why the son had them arrested-to silence them. I've been on the road for two years. In that time, I've been accosted three times by enemies out for my blood, and I believe two of those times were attempted assassinations ordered by the son of the Marquess."

Lyn looked around like she expected Ilian assassins to jump out of the shadows. "Do you think they're still after you?"

Mark shrugged. "I don't know. Before I was attacked by those three bandits, which was right before I met you, the last time I faced an assassin was over a year ago. They may have lost track of me, or the son may have decided I wasn't enough of a threat to warrant paying assassins. Either way, I'm still wary of trusting strangers. But you and I have been in life threatening situations more than once, and I trust you. Besides, this would be a really elaborate ruse just to assassinate me."

Lyn giggled at the thought. "Oh, you have no idea. I've secretly been preparing each new person as they come aboard for the final battle. After I defeat Lundgren with your help, everyone is going to surround you and bring you down. After that I'll get my payment from Huey, who's the original architect of the plan."

Mark poked her in the side. "Actually, while I don't believe you have it in for me, I do believe Huey capable of plotting assassinations. That pegasus is smarter than Sain."

Lyn openly laughed at that, but quickly covered her mouth for fear of waking the others. The two continued to make small talk as their shift passed.

After maybe two hours had passed, Lyn shivered. Mark took off his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, but Lyn wasn't having any of that. She extended the cloak so it could wrap around both of them, then pressed up against his side and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Mark's side was on fire. He was acutely aware of how warm her body was, and how nice it felt to have her pressed against him. He idly wondered if she knew how she affected him. He was pretty sure he remained calm and didn't give himself away, but she had a slight smirk on her face that made him think she knew anyway. Perhaps it was just woman's intuition.

They passed the rest of their shift like that. Lyn fell asleep, and Mark didn't have the heart to wake her until it was time for everyone to get up. When that time came, he reluctantly roused her, and when she was awake enough to stand with falling over, he headed downstairs to wake everyone else. Dorcas was back by that time, and Lyn noticed. "Dorcas? I thought you and Natalie left last night."

"We did. Mark didn't tell you?" He continued before Lyn could answer. "I owe you all for what you did for Natalie. I offered Mark my services last night. He said it was okay."

Lyn smiled at him. "That's fine. We're glad to have you." She then turned to Mark and glared. "You could have told me."

Mark held up his hands in surrender. "I apologize. I should have told you, but it honestly just slipped my mind. I'll let you know next time I take in any strays." He was careful to say this out of earshot of Dorcas, for he didn't know how Dorcas would react to being called a 'stray.'

The group woke and ate quickly before preparing to set out. Kent mentioned the path took them into a deep valley between two mountains. They would pass through midday, so it wouldn't be reasonable to stop for the night, but they could buy Dorcas another axe. The group headed into the valley in search of this settlement, when they heard a scream.

Everyone headed towards the noise, and they came upon a rather peculiar sight. An archer and a mage were squaring off in a small field. The archer seemed to be one of the bandits following the legion, but Mark could see an insignia on the mage signifying he was an apprentice from Etruria. The mage had short purple hair, and a strong build that showed he was used to effort, but not physical effort. Mark thought he knew who this apprentice's master was as well, but he put that to the back of his mind.

There was another person in the clearing as well. It was a girl, probably about the same age as the mage. She was in a tree behind the mage, shrieking her lungs out and holding a staff. She was also crossing her fingers in an 'X' position and motioning at the archer, as if warding off evil. The warding didn't seem to be doing anything, but the shrieking did. The archer was cringing at the noise, but the mage kept his poise. Mark guessed the mage and the woman (probably a cleric), were traveling together, and the cleric often shrieked. Thus, the mage managed to ignore her. Anyway, Mark directed everyone to join in the fun.

"Wil, help the mage. Florina, take Huey and get that woman out of that tree. Kent, Sain, do a quick lap of the perimeter and look for other threats. Lyn, Dorcas, I don't think the mage and cleric will be hostile, but be ready just in case."

Everyone did as ordered. The mage had already severely injured the archer, but he had a wound on his arm and sweat on his brow. Wil drew his bow and fired an arrow. It landed square in the archer's forehead, and the mage turned to the new threat. Mark was ready.

"Peace, friend. That archer was from a group of bandits that have followed us through the mountains. We heard her screaming," he indicated the cleric, "and thought we'd help. Tell me, are you Erk, apprentice to Lord Pent?"

The mage immediately became defensive. "Who are you, stranger? How do you know my name?"

Mark showed Erk his own insignia, the one signifying he was a magical advisor to an Ilian noble. Erk relaxed slightly, and Mark explained. "I am Mark. I met your master Lord Pent when my own master, the Marquess of Eastern Ilia traveled to Etruria to discuss an alliance against the highway robbers. We've met before."

Erk nodded. "Now that you mention it, I do recognize you. You say these bandits trail you?"

Mark nodded back, but before he could explain, Florina returned with the cleric behind her. The cleric had heard Erk's last sentence, and screeched at Mark. "OMIGOSH! Those bandits were after you? They tried to kill me, and it's all your fault. You'd better have a plan to do something about it!"

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Er, who are you?"

The cleric puffed herself up. "I am Serra. I'm a cleric from Ostia, and that's Erk. He's my escort. Now what are you going to do about those bandits."

Now Mark was confused. "What bandits? The only bandit I see is dead."

At this, Kent and Sain came riding up. Kent delivered the report. "Sir, bandits occupy the next valley over. I don't actually know if they're aware of us, because they aren't converging on our position, but they are blocking the path. There's no way around them."

Mark looked resigned at this. "Erk. I could use your help if you're willing. You too, Serra, was it?"

"That's Lady Serra to you, commoner. And yes, I will grace you with my aid."

Mark pointed at Erk. "That's great. Go grace him."

Serra did as ordered, and Mark turned to everyone else. "Kent, Sain, Dorcas. Follow the path around this hill here, and defeat anyone on the road. It seems there are a few bandits in the hills, so everyone else is with me. We're gonna take a shortcut."

Kent, Sain and Dorcas did as ordered, and everyone else started climbing through the hills. Mark turned to Florina. "Take Huey into the air and scout the situation. If you see an archer in range, land immediately."

Florina nodded and Huey took off. It might have been Mark's imagination, but he didn't think Florina had even signaled the pegasus to do so. The rest of the troop continued through the hills on foot. They encountered a bandit here and there, but Wil and Erk picked each one off from afar. At one point, an archer got off a arrow before Erk fried him, and Mark had his shoulder grazed. Serra healed it before he even realized he was hurt.

The group entered the other valley to find Kent, Sain and Dorcas galloping towards them from the right, and a few bandits blocking the road to the left. Kent reported as he rode up. "We encountered a few bandits, but nothing we couldn't handle." Mark narrowed his eyes at this. Kent noticed. "What is it? That's good, isn't it?"

Mark shook his head. "This has been far too easy. A few bandits spread out throughout the area. They normally congregate together. And there should be more."

As he said this, there was a shout from behind. He turned and saw maybe ten bandits spilling into the road behind them, and ten more joining the few blocking the way forward. They were surrounded.

"An ambush! Quickly, form a circle. Kent, take point. Sain, you're rearguard. Dorcas, with Kent, Lyn with Sain. Serra, you're in the middle with Erk and Wil. Erk, Wil, take out the bandits behind us first. There are fewer of them. We take them out and then the ones in front of us. Florina, fly back the way we came and circle around the mountains. Come at those bandits from behind."

Everyone immediately snapped into action. Huey and Florina took off, Kent and Sain blocked the path at either end, Lyn and Dorcas prepared to support them, and Mark, Erk, and Wil launched long ranged attacks at the enemy. Erk was still an apprentice, and so could only cast the generic fireball spell, but Mark cast his chain lightning spell, and Wil picked off the stunned bandits. However, the three of them could only do so much, and most of the bandits were intact when they crashed into the group.

Kent and Sain held their positions. The unarmored fighters behind them weren't hurt in the ensuing clash, and Serra was running back and forth between the two healing the small scratches they got. Lyn and Dorcas weren't taking a lot of damage, as Kent and Sain were drawing all the attention.

Mark paused his casting a second to examine the situation. It was going to be close. The bandits behind had almost been defeated, but Kent and Dorcas didn't have any support, and would soon be overwhelmed.

"Lyn! Help Kent and Dorcas. Wil, you as well." Wil turned around and fired in the other direction while Lyn moved to the other side of Kent, opposite Dorcas. Florina chose this moment to appear behind the bandits harassing Sain. They were few now, and were easily picked off by Florina, Huey, Sain, Erk and Mark.

After all the bandits behind them were defeated, everyone faced front. Mark had Kent draw back, as he was in worse shape than Sain. The bandits in front were organized, but the legion was no longer surrounded. Against a concerted attack, the bandits didn't last long.

After the battle was over, Mark let everyone drop to the ground, as it was an exhausting fight. Kent and Sain were especially tired, as they had held back the tide. Lyn and Dorcas also had scratches here and there. Erk was close to falling asleep, and Mark guessed he had almost magically exhausted himself. Wil was bleeding at the fingers from firing his bow so fast, and Mark himself was feeling fatigued. Serra was ragged, as she had been running from one end of the fight to the other and back, and she couldn't fall to her feet yet. Mark took pity on her and took her heal staff from her tired hands before healing some of the lesser wounds. Serra was too shocked to protest, and she kept her mouth shut when she realized he knew what he was doing.

It wasn't until later Mark realized his mistake. When he had relieved Serra, she was healing Sain, and she plopped down right there next to the knight. Mark walked off to heal those who needed it, and Sain worked his magic. When Mark went to return the staff, he was informed that Serra and Erk would be traveling with them to Caelin. Mark just nodded, as he wasn't one to turn down free help, and he walked back to Lyn.

"Yay, Serra's coming with us. We're screwed."

A/N-Chapter 7 done. If these chapters continue to grow in length, I won't be able to update daily. Anyway, I'm really starting to like Huey. Also, I'm trying to develop the relationship between Mark and Lyn. Let me know what you think.


	8. The Welcome

Of Sorcery and Strategy

To Cozman10-glad you're still enjoying the story.

To Assassin of Shadows-its nice to get a review from an author who's story I highly enjoy. I'm heartened by the fact that you enjoyed my story, and I hope I helped increase your reader traffic. For those readers who haven't seen my profile, this guy is writing Whom She Found, and its an excellent story. Check it out!

To WhizkidHV-glad to see a new reviewer. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

To Darkforce222-sexual tension is the name of the game. I do think I've written Mark like he has low magical stamina. This was unintentional, but whatever works.

To Omegasystems-glad you're back. I'm not actually in love with a pegasus, I've just never read a fic where Huey gets the spotlight, so I've decided to write my own. Anyway, the magebear already pointed out that I've been using language not heard in medieval times, and I've been trying to fix that, but I appreciate you keeping me on my toes. Enjoy the chapter!

A/N-I went back and edited the scene with Huey in this chapter. I didn't like how surreal it was, so I made it more believable.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 8: The Welcome

It took the group another two hours before anyone was in shape to move. By that time, it was almost dark, and Mark instructed everyone to set up camp. He then introduced Erk and Serra to those who hadn't learned their names yet.

Everyone broke camp and separated into smaller groups. Kent and Sain took first watch as always, and moved up to a small hill deemed 'the new lookout.' In a continuation of her attempts to get over her fear of both men and bows, Florina was sitting next to Wil, and the two were quietly talking. Serra, for some reason, chose Dorcas as her target to pester. To the best of Mark's knowledge, the only thing that truly separated Dorcas from the rest of them was his marriage. Maybe Serra wanted tips.

After a moment of watching Mark, Lyn moved to join Wil and Florina. Huey the Pegasus was busy butting his head against a tree. Mark reflected on this for awhile, and came to a conclusion. Huey was either challenging the tree to some kind of contest to protect his position as alpha-pegasus, or he was trying to knock something out of the tree to have for dinner. Mark guessed the second, because Huey had never struck him as dumb.

He wanted a second opinion though, and so he went to get one. "Hey Erk, if you had to guess, what would you say Huey was trying to accomplish by banging his head against that tree?"

Erk examined the situation for the moment. "Well, I'd say he's either performing some elaborate mating ritual, or trying to knock something out of the tree for dinner. Probably the latter."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I figured he was looking for dinner or challenging the tree for supremacy of his herd. Not sure how the tree would be a challenger, but, well, stranger things have happened."

Erk started to nod in agreement, then stopped. "Wait, you've seen something stranger than a pegasus challenging an inanimate object to a fight?"

Mark nodded. "Oh yeah. I was once performing an experiment for a class I took on chemistry in Military academy. I-"

Erk interrupted. "Why were you taking a class on chemistry in Military Academy?"

"The class was mostly on the uses of chemicals in warfare, but there was a section on the designing of new chemicals. Anyway, I was doing this experiment on the combination of rust and arcane particles. I combined the two in a flask and smoke started rising. Before I could do anything, the smoke spelled out words that said 'Don't ever do that again you fool.' There was a picture of my face underneath the writing. Strangest thing I've seen to date."

Dorcas chose that moment to sprint past Mark and Erk. Mark turned to follow his progress, and almost shouted with surprise as Serra ran past, chasing Dorcas. She was holding her staff out and shouting "STOP! I will purge the devil from you, evil fiend!"

Mark turned back to Erk. "Okay, the chemical message is still the strangest thing I've ever seen, but that came pretty close." He pointed at Serra and Dorcas.

Erk was about to respond, when Huey let out a loud screech. Mark turned to see the pegasus angrily headbutt the tree harder then he had been before. Mark couldn't see what had upset him at first, but then something small fell out of the tree and hit Huey on the head. Mark looked up to see two squirrels with an arsenal of nuts bombarding Huey. Mark turned back to Erk and said "Okay, squirrels in a nutfight with a pegasus is now officially the strangest thing I've ever seen."

Erk was still in shock, so Mark looked around to see the reaction of everyone else. Wil was cracking up, Lyn was hiding a smile, and Florina was hiding behind Lyn. On 'the new lookout,' Kent was shouting at Serra to calm down, and Sain was applauding. Mark just shook his head.

Later, the group would refer to it as 'The Great Serra-and-Squirrel incident.' That night, however, everyone was so exhausted from the battle that they forgot about it. Mark set the watch rotation, and paired Lyn with Dorcas, Wil with Florina, and himself with Erk. Serra got the night off. Mark said this was because she had spent a lot of energy healing everyone, but in truth he would only subject Sain to two hours on watch with her, and Sain was already paired with Kent.

Mark was also exhausted, after a long battle and a long recovery period where he was the only one not doing any recovering. He fell asleep quickly, and he did not dream that night. All too soon, Wil was shaking him awake for his turn on watch. He and Erk ascended to 'the new lookout' and took a quick look around the camp to make sure everything was in order before descending into a companionable silence.

Mark was the first to break the silence. "So, how is Lord Pent these days?"

Erk shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I left on this escort mission six months ago. It's part of my training, and I need to pass to graduate to journeyman. Around the time I left, Lord Pent left as well for the Nabata Desert."

"Nabata? What was he doing out there?"

"He said he had discovered something in one of his scrolls that led him to believe something legendary was in the desert." Erk shrugged again. "He wasn't more specific than that."

The two fell silent for awhile again, and this time Erk broke the silence. "You know, now that I think about it, Pent mentioned you a couple times. His strong suit is thunder, and while he is efficient with fire, apparently you are a master. He was thinking about contacting you and asking you to take over that aspect of my training. I even think he did try to contact you, but couldn't get in touch."

Mark was embarrassed upon hearing the Mage-General of Etruria call him 'a master of fire,' but he didn't let on. "Well, if he tried to contact me in the past two years, that would explain it. After the Marquess I served was assassinated, I went on the run. I haven't stayed in any one place long enough to get mail."

Erk nodded. "That makes sense. I had heard rumors you were on the run, but honestly, I don't pay that much attention to the outside world. Now that we'll be traveling together, do you think you'll have the time to teach me a few things?"

"Sure. I don't know how much time, but I'm sure there will be opportunities. You want to get started now? "

Erk said yes, and Mark decided to start with his scroll on how to use fire to defeat water.

"The obvious way is to make a fire so hot the water evaporates before it can put the fire out. But there's another way that takes less power. The reason water puts fire out is lack of oxygen. Fire needs oxygen to survive, and water blocks fire's access to the oxygen in the air. There's oxygen in water too, but not enough to keep fire going. However, if you combine schools of magic, you can make fire invulnerable to water. A simple spell combined with your fire spell allows your fire to draw oxygen from the air even when blocked by water."

Erk was utterly fascinated by this. Mark was glad to have found a kindred spirit. Lyn was a lot of fun to hang around, and she was also interested in Mark's magical abilities, but she didn't really understand magic. With Erk, Mark could hold a stimulating discussion on topics that would've flown over Lyn's head. On the other hand, Lyn had a better grasp of tactics than Erk did, so she was more fun to talk to in that regard. Mark was also considered asking Lyn to help him improve his skill with the sword, as she was rapidly becoming a force to contend with.

Mark and Erk passed the rest of the watch away as Mark showed Erk the spell required to protect his fire from the suffocating powers of water. Erk tried it out, and his fire turned bright pink. Mark informed him that wasn't supposed to happen, and told him to practice the spell when he had the time. It was already light now though, and time to get everyone else up.

When everyone was awake and at least semi-coherent, they started moving. Everyone was still tired from the events of yesterday, and so there was little conversation. At around noon, Sain crested a hill, stopped, and sighed. Kent, who was closest to him, asked him what was wrong. He turned with a smile on his face.

"This is it. We are now officially in Lycian territory."

Lyn looked excited. "Oh, that's excellent. How long will it be now before I see my grandfather?"

Kent answered. "Four, maybe five days. It depends on whether our progress is impeded or not. We are now traveling into the province of Araphen. On that note, Mark, I would like to ride ahead and inform the Marquess of our arrival. Araphen and Caelin have long been friends; he may grant us aid."

Mark shook his head. "We can ask for aid when we arrive. The bandits tailing us have not been defeated yet, and there may be scouts in front of us. I don't want anyone traveling alone."

Kent nodded at that logic, and moved back to his place at the front of the line. The group continued moving, and after another two hours, they could see the walls to a large city. Lyn looked astounded.

"Why, that city must be twice the size of Bulgar!"

Mark explained. "The nomads on the plains of Sacae grow or hunt what they need. There is very little call for a city with a lot of material goods, and thus Bulgar is relatively small. Araphen, however, is a capitalist nation. Most people don't work all day from sun-up to sun-down, and so a lot of people have more time to make use of luxury goods. Thus, Araphen is much bigger than Bulgar."

Lyn looked like she wanted to say something in response, but Wil interrupted. Mark had realized awhile ago that the archer had sharp hearing, and Wil gave further proof of that when he said "Listen! There are noises coming from the city. It sounds like metal on metal."

Mark strained to hear anything along with the rest of the group, before he kicked himself and used his nifty spell to shift his senses closer to the city. He could hear what Wil heard, and he also heard shouting. He ended the spell and turned to the others.

"I heard it too. Sounds like there's a fight going on. If the city guard is in trouble from bandits, perhaps we could help and earn some money for supplies. It would also help our case with the Marquess."

He turned to Florina. "Scout ahead. Take Lyn with you. Circle over the city and assess the situation. Do it quickly, I don't want any archers taking aim at you. Land outside those gates, and we'll meet you there." He turned to the others. "Mount up. Dorcas, ride with Kent. Erk, ride with Wil. Serra, ride with Sain. We head to that gate and wait for Florina and Lyn to update us."

Everyone got on a horse, and the group moved swiftly to the designated area. They waited in front of the bolted gate for five minutes before Florina and Lyn returned. Florina was more used to taking in a situation from the air and making a concise report, so she spoke.

"Sir, it seems some sort of mercenary group has attacked the city. I'm not sure of their intentions, but they were headed towards the castle and were almost there when I came back here. They left a few guards on that side of the gate to keep reinforcements from coming."

Mark made a quick decision. "Mercenaries, huh. They were probably hired by an enemy of the Marquess to dethrone him. Whoever takes over may not be sympathetic to us. Florina, Lyn, go over the gate and defeat the guards there. Open the gates when you're done. Everyone else, be prepared to charge the castle. If they get inside, we'll be in trouble."

Florina and Lyn left to do their part, and everyone else waited anxiously for the gates to open. Just as Mark started to get worried, he heard a grinding sound, and the gates opened to reveal Lyn and Florina on the other side with three dead bodies surrounding them. Mark wasted no time.

"Charge the castle! Go, go, go!"

Everyone took off towards the large battlements in the distance. They weaved through city streets and dodged civilians to get to their target. They were too late.

Mark pulled up and watched as the gates to the castle were closed. "Shoot! We don't have the numbers for a siege and their position is too defensible for a frontal assault."

"So what do we do?" Lyn asked the question, but everyone was thinking it. Mark paused for a second.

"This is a castle. There has to be some sort of secret passage in and out that the enemy may not know about. The villagers, however, have likely heard rumors. Spread out, and-"

A voice from behind interrupted him. "Who are you, and what are your intentions?"

Mark turned with a spell handy to see a man on a horse wearing what he thought was tribal clothing and holding a bow pointed directly at him. Lyn spoke before he could.

"You're a Sacaen! So am I! I'm Lyn, of the Lorca. We travel to Caelin to see-" Mark stopped her.

"Lyn! Being a Sacaen does not make him trustworthy." He turned back to the stranger. "We are a mercenary group. We have some work in Caelin, but we are running low on supplies. We stopped by Araphen to regroup. We saw the battle, and thought we might help the Marquess out of this bind in exchange for some goodwill."

The stranger peered at him closely. "You speak the truth?"

Mark decided to be honest. "Not exactly, but that is the gist of the situation. You still have not told us who you are."

The stranger shrugged and lowered his bow. "I am Rath. I am the captain of the castle guard here. If you wish to help, there is a secret passage into the castle. Activate three switches in the surrounding storehouses, and the passageway will open. Unfortunately, the enemy is aware of this passageway, and left troops behind to guard the switches. I cannot defeat them all alone. To add to the problem, the enemy has locked the storehouses from the inside, and I don't have a key."

Mark turned his analytical mind to the problem. "Well, first things first would be to find either a key or a lock picker. Did the enemy leave all its troops inside the storehouses, or are some outside?"

Rath thought for a moment, then said "They did leave some outside."

Mark continued. "That's good. Those guards will most likely have a key on them in case they need to get inside. They will need to be defeated and searched. Someone in the village may have a key as well. Are those the three store houses in question?" He pointed to a storehouse to the north, one to the south, and one straight ahead.

Rath nodded, and Mark formulated a plan. "Okay, Kent, Dorcas, head to the south storehouse, defeat the guards and search them. If you find a key, use it, defeat the guards inside and activate the switch before returning here. If you don't find a key, stay at the store house unless one of you is severely injured, in which case I want both of you back here to be healed by Serra. Erk, Sain, you do the same with the storehouse to the north. Florina, Wil, take the one straight ahead. Lyn, Rath, go door to door and see if anyone has a key to the storehouses. If so, go one of the storehouses that has a team waiting out front. Serra, you stay here and heal anyone who comes back. I'm going up to the roof of that house," he pointed to a building on his left, "to get a better vantage point." Everyone moved to do as ordered, and Mark walked into his new mage's nest. He decided that was going to be his name for the vantage position he chose in battle.

He had an ulterior motive for choosing this particular building. As he was looking around, he had seen a shady fellow watching from the window. This fellow looked very interested in Mark's group. Mark didn't think he could be this lucky, but as he had told Erk, stranger things had happened.

He got to the third floor of the building and saw the man from earlier still at the window following the progress of the battle. The man had short blond hair, a red cape, and a slight build. He didn't seem aware of Mark's presence.

"Interesting sight?"

The man jumped and turned around. "Oh. I didn't see you there. You have a motley crew."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, we're quite the collection of individuals. You'd fit right in, what with your spying on us and all."

The man looked sheepish at being caught. "I heard rumors about a Sacaen princess who would be passing this way. That beautiful lady knocking on houses with the scary looking horseman wouldn't be her, would it?"

Mark's suspicions were confirmed. This man, most likely a thief by profession, had some skill at gathering information. He would have to step carefully in this conversation. "And if she is?"

The man smiled. He knew that Mark knew. "I see you've guessed who I am. I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you why I'm really here and offer you my aid, if you agree to keep my secret safe from the rest of your fellows."

Mark did a little negotiating. "If you are the spy I think you are, and you are willing to help us, it would be in both your and my best interest to tell the Sacaen princess the truth about you. The others, however, have no need to know more than you want them to."

"Agreed. You and the lady only shall know the truth. The name's Matthew. I'm a spy in the employ of House Ostia. When I heard rumor the granddaughter of Marquess Caelin was returning home, I seized an opportunity Marquess Ostia has been waiting for for months."

Mark looked cautious. "What was the opportunity?"

Matthew smiled again. "You see, the Marquess of Ostia has had qualms for awhile about the Marquess of Caelin's brother Lundgren. He's been dreading the day Lundgren takes over control of Caelin, for he fears Lundgren has designs to control all of Lycia at his expense. The news that there lived an heir to the throne with a stronger claim than Lungren's heartened him. I have come to make sure this heir makes it to Caelin."

Mark wasn't fully trusting of this spy, but his story was logical, and Mark couldn't afford to be picky. There was just one more obstacle. "Well, your help could not have come at a better time, but don't you normally work for a wage?"

Matthew understood the subtle message in the question. "Don't worry about it. Ostia is paying my wage for this mission. You get my services for free."

Mark nodded in thanks. "Good. Follow me to the roof, I need to assess the situation."

Once on the roof, Mark discovered the battle progressing efficiently. There was no sign of Kent and Dorcas anywhere, so Mark assumed they were in the south storage building activating the switch. Florina and Wil were standing around outside their building. Mark could see Lyn and Rath headed for them. To the north, there was no one, but Sain and Erk were with Serra. Sain had a gash on his forehead that Serra was treating, and Erk was staying with him as ordered. Mark spoke to Matthew.

"Head to the north building and open the storage building door there. Sneak inside if you can, pull back if you can't. If there's anything in the storage building we can use for this battle, take it and we'll return it later. Don't get caught."

Matthew nodded and ran back downstairs. He headed for the north building just as Lyn and Rath reached Florina and Wil. Sure enough, Lyn put something in the door that turned out to be a key, for the door opened. Before she and Rath could follow Florina and Wil inside, though, Mark cast his nifty spell.

"Lyn, Sain was injured at the fight to the north, so there's no one there. Take Rath and head that way. You'll meet a man with blond hair wearing a red cape. His name's Matthew, and he'll open the door for you. Deal with whoever's inside."

Rath was standing right there, and so heard Mark's orders as clearly as Lyn did. He looked like he had swallowed something awful, and he turned to Lyn and said "Can he hear me through that devilry of his?"

Mark put the devilry comment to the side until he could deal with it later. He had heard how some Sacaens viewed magic, and was glad Lyn wasn't so prejudiced. He answered for her.

"Yeah, Rath, I can hear you. What is it?"

Rath must have caught the edge in Mark's voice and realized his comment was overheard, for he looked rather abashed. He soldiered on though, and gave his report. "The storehouse to the north is where the passageway is. When that switch is activated, the passageway will be opened."

Mark was annoyed he wasn't given this information earlier, but he put that aside. "Okay, thanks." He then shifted the location of his nifty spell to the south storage building, where Kent and Dorcas were coming out. "Kent, Dorcas, you've activated the switch successfully?"

Mark had earlier explained his nifty spell to everyone in the group, so Kent and Dorcas weren't surprised when they heard his voice coming out of nowhere. Kent answered. "Yes, the switch is activated and all hostiles have been eliminated. What would you like us to do now?"

"Head to the north building. You'll meet Lyn and Rath there, along with a guy called Matthew. According to Rath, the passageway itself is in that building." Mark saw Kent nod, and he and Dorcas changed direction and moved north. Mark ended the spell in time to see Florina and Wil emerging from the middle building. He recast the nifty spell and gave them the same instructions. He then told Serra, Sain, and Erk before finally teleporting himself to the scene.

Inside, Lyn and Rath were in a fight with two guards. Matthew had tripped the switch, so Mark could see where the path led. In front was a giant knight with heavy armor. Mark's brain went into overdrive for a second before he looked back at Matthew and the sword in his hand. It wasn't the same sword he had been carrying earlier, but a special sword known as an armorslayer. In the hands of Kent, it would be deadly against the knight, especially if said knight were also under attack from, say, a fireball.

Kent, Dorcas, Sain, Erk, Florina, Wil, and Serra all arrived around the same time. Mark told Matthew to give the armorslayer to Kent and turned to Erk. "You and I will pester him with fireballs while Dorcas throws his hand-axe around and Kent attacks with the armorslayer. Sain, be prepared to take over for Kent if he gets injured. Lyn, Wil, Florina, Rath, your weapons aren't strong enough to get through the knight's armor, so watch our backs and make sure no more guards come. Serra, heal anyone who's hurt.

Everyone snapped into action. Kent charged into the room where the knight was stationed wielding his new sword. Dorcas followed with his axe, and Mark and Erk were behind them. Lyn, Wil and Florina took up positions around the door facing out, while Sain lined his horse up with Kent's so he could immediately take over should Kent be injured.

Mark struck first by superheating the knight's armor. If he kept up the spell long enough, the knight would die of heatstroke, but Mark was merely trying to distract him. Erk decided this would be a good time to try out the spell that would protect his fireball from water that Mark had taught him. The result was a halo of purple fire that settled on the knight's helmet, making him sweat profusely. This sweat got in his eyes and impeded his vision. Due to this, when he took a swing at Kent he was way wide, and Kent retaliated by hacking at the knight's arm with his armorslayer. The sword went through the armor like a knife through butter and left a deep gash on the knight's arm.

Dorcas had missed with his first axe throw, but the second struck home in the knight's visor. The blow didn't kill the knight, but it did cause a cut. The blood from the cut mixed with the sweat caused by Erk's fire, and the knight was now effectively blind. Left with no choice, he reached up and took off his helmet.

Wil saw this from the doorway. Remembering that Mark had said his arrows couldn't penetrate the knight's armor, he took a chance and ended the knight's life with a headshot.

The knight fell to the ground and Mark turned to Rath. "They are all tired. Can you and your men handle the insurgents from here?"

Rath nodded and took off down the passageway while Mark told everyone to take a break. He turned back to Wil and said "Nice shot."

Wil looked nervous. "I'm sorry Mark, I know you told me to watch out for reinforcements, but you had said that because my arrows couldn't pierce his armor, and I saw that he didn't have his helmet on, and thought that maybe-" Mark had to cut him off.

"Wil! It's okay. You've heard the phrase 'No plan survives contact with the enemy'?" Wil nodded. "It's true. The flow of battle can change in an instant, and if your orders become obsolete, you sometimes have to improvise. You did a good job."

Wil blushed at the praise, and went to sit next to Florina. Mark was tired himself, even though he had done little fighting this time, and he sat down to catch his breath. He looked up to see Matthew sitting next to him. The spy was acting somewhat oddly, almost like he was trying to hide behind Mark. Mark looked the other way and saw Serra glaring at Matthew. He smirked and turned back around.

"Ah, so you've already gotten to know Serra. We're going to get along well, you and I."

A/N-Chapter 8 done after about 3 hours. I realized that while I was building Mark's relationship with Lyn, I was ignoring some of the other characters. I don't really want him to have friendly relationships with everyone, so I've decided to pick a few characters for him to bond with. Besides Lyn, there's Erk now, and eventually there will be Eliwood, Pent, and possibly Lucius and/or Canas. Haven't decided yet. On another note, I've read a number of Lyn/Tactician stories where Lyn is friendly with Rath and the tactician is jealous. I think that's a bit petty, so I've crafted what I think is a better reason for Mark and Rath to be at loggerheads. Not that I can't see two guys fighting over Lyn, but I like to think Mark has more self control. I don't know how far I'm going to go with this though. Anyway, let me know what you think.


	9. The Magical Flute

Of Sorcery and Strategy

A/N-to Cozman10- I put another little snippet of Mark's life before Lyn in here, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 9: The Magical Flute.

After the battle, Mark told everyone to rest while he waited to hear from Rath on the situation in the castle. He didn't let anyone fully relax, as he wanted everyone ready at a moment's notice should the captain require more aid. The first thing he did was have Matthew return what was stolen from the storehouse. It would have looked bad to receive the grace of the Marquess only to be caught stealing. When Matthew was gone, he went looking for Lyn only to find her on her way over.

"Okay, what was the deal with him? I recognize a thief when I see one, a number of the Lorca chose that profession. We don't have the money to pay him, Mark."

Mark drew her over to a quiet corner away from the others. So far, Matthew had kept his end of the bargain, and Mark had every intention of honoring his own end. "Listen, I made a deal with him. I'll tell you who he really is, but for reasons you'll soon understand, he doesn't want the others to know. To them, he'll have to be a thief with morals."

Lyn nodded her agreement, and Mark relayed the tale. "Apparently, some of the other Lycian territories caught wind of your approach and are rather excited about it. They fear Lundgren's designs on Caelin's position in the Lycian League, and they do not wish him to rise to power. Matthew is a spy from Ostia. He's here because his Marquess told him to help you get to safety. Ostia is also paying his wage, so we get his services for free."

Lyn looked upset by this. "Mark, I know you don't like turning down free help, but do we really need a thief? What can he do besides steal goods?"

Mark gave her a direct look. "Many people ask similar questions about women, but you can do a lot of things most men can't. Don't judge someone by their profession, or anything else that gives them a connection to someone else."

Lyn looked properly chastised, and Mark answered her question. "For what he can do, well, that's actually a long list. Stealing goods can come in handy, like when we were in the mountains facing bandits. Said bandits didn't earn those goods fairly, and so our 'borrowing' of them didn't really bother me. There are also situations like this one, where Matthew found an armorslayer for our use. I've already told him to return it, so there isn't really any harm done."

As Mark talked, Lyn was torn. She was always fascinated by what Mark had to say, but she didn't really trust thieves after what had happened to her family. She decided to give this one a chance, and listened to Mark continue.

"Besides stealing, you saw the other thing he's really useful for-picking locks. When we get to Caelin, we may have to infiltrate the castle in order to dispose of Lundgren. To that end, we'll need either someone to open the gates, or a back door into the castle. Matthew could help with either."

As Mark continued talking, Lyn grew more and more interested in some of the redeeming qualities of a man whose profession was illegal. Mark always surprised her with the depth of knowledge he had, and his unique way of looking at a situation made him a valuable friend.

"There is also a lesser known advantage of being a thief. See, thieves often have to work in deep, dark places, or else they get caught. So, the really good thieves train themselves to see what others don't. Normally this is for in dark alleyways or secret passageways in castles, but it has a hidden benefit. Thieves are really good at seeing through fog. If the weather turns bad for us, he'll be able to keep us from walking into an ambush."

Now Lyn was honestly surprised. She had known that Matthew could pick locks, she just hadn't expected to need his services again. However, hearing that he could see through fog was something she hadn't ever thought of. And Mark still wasn't done.

"And, you also have to keep in mind that Matthew in particular isn't just a thief. He's a spy. This also has a couple advantages. First, being a thief isn't actually his job, it's his cover story, which means he's probably not as immoral as other thieves. Second, as a spy, he probably has up-to-date information of the goings-on of the other territories, which could be useful in planning an attack while coordinating with allies. Third, as a spy, he's very good at gathering information, information we may need when we get to Caelin. And fourth, he probably has connections to a lot of the nobles of Lycia, and may be able to plead our case to them and earn us some much-needed allies."

It was a long-winded monologue that forced Lyn to change the way she looked at the man she previously thought so simple. She was rather embarrassed at being so stereotypical. "I'm sorry Mark. I shouldn't have just assumed he was some lazy bum who couldn't be bothered to find honest work."

"It's alright. We all do it sometimes. Just keep in mind that until you know a person's motivation, you can't judge his or her choices. You might have made the same choice if you were forced into that particular situation."

Matthew himself came back from returning the goods at this point, and walked over to Lyn and Mark. Without preamble, Lyn walked over to Matthew.

"I owe you an apology, Matthew. I thought you were just like every other bandit, and I wasn't fair to you, especially after you just helped us save the Marquess. I'm glad of your aid."

Matthew gave Lyn a look and said "Uh, thanks?" Lyn nodded at him before walking over to Kent, presumably to make up some excuse for Matthew's acceptance into the group. Matthew turned to Mark.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth, and I told only her. She was upset about needing a thief in the party, so I simply told her how your presence would be, uh, beneficial."

Matthew seemed annoyed at this. "Typical. I'm a thief so that automatically makes me a bad guy. Just because my mother died when I was young and my father abandoned me and I had to steal bread to surive, I'm some sort of monster. I oughta-"

Mark cut him off with a stern voice. "You oughta be quiet, because you're doing the same thing she did. About seven months ago, her entire village was wiped out by bandits, many of whom are thieves. She has a very good reason to be wary of people such as yourself, and she proved herself a good, reasonable person by accepting that you may not be like the men who razed her village. Will you accept that maybe she's not just some goody-two-shoes that doesn't know true suffering?"

Matthew blushed in embarrassment at being called out on doing the one thing to someone else he hated people doing to him. Still, he shrugged it off and gave a short report. "I returned the weaponry to its proper place like you asked. I did a little scouting, and the castle guard seems to have the situation well in hand now that the horseman is in charge. His second in command wasn't meant to lead an army."

Mark shrugged. "As long as the castle is made safe, I don't care who does it. I do not want to linger in Araphen for long. If Lundgren catches word that we're here, we'll bring more trouble to the Marquess' doorstep."

Matthew winced. "About that. I heard rumor that you _are_ the reason this group is here, or at least part of the reason. Lord Araphen's cousin has designs for control of Araphen, and he believes Lundgren will soon take power of Caelin. The cousin's designs included taking control of the city, and then capturing Lyn if she passed through. He was going to present her to Lundgren in exchange for an alliance."

Mark looked thoughtful. "Well, we did help the Marquess prevent this from happening, but if he's a petty man he may just see it as us helping ourselves. I guess we'll just have to wait and hope for the best.

Matthew moved on at that, and left Mark to his own thoughts. Not five minutes later, Rath emerged from the passageway where the group was waiting. He ignored Mark and spoke to Lyn.

"The castle is cleared. I will take you to the Marquess."

Lyn nodded her thanks, and the group got up to follow Rath, but he motioned otherwise. "Only the Lady and one of her bodyguards may come."

Lyn turned to look at Mark, but he shook his head slightly and motioned at Kent. Lyn looked hurt and confused, so Mark tried to pacify her. He cast his nifty spell and whispered in her ear, "It's best if you take Kent. I'll explain later."

Lyn looked put out, but she trusted Mark, so she nodded and gave Kent a wave. The knight came to attention before moving toward her, and the three disappeared down the passageway. Mark took this opportunity to turn to Erk. "Want to continue our lessons?"

Erk did, so Mark led him over to the corner where he had previously been talking to Lyn and Matthew. Mark decided to concentrate on teaching Erk some of the theory of magic. Erk still hadn't got down the first spell Mark taught him, so Mark didn't want to saddle him with many more, but learning some theory would be okay.

"When you use magic, you are drawing energy from the surrounding area. You impose your will on this energy, and invoke power words to make it do what you want. You don't actually need to say the words, but words are basically your brain's categorizing system. Words cause specific spells to be cast. If you don't say the words and your intent isn't specific enough, you may not get the intended result. It's like music. If you play a song, you get a specific set of notes. However, if you just 'feel' the music as you play, the sound you get may be wonderful or awful. Magic is the same way. There are no limits except your imagination."

After Mark was sure Erk had wrapped his head around this, he told Erk to practice the fire-protection spell while Mark watched. By the time Lyn and Kent returned, Erk had actually created a flame impervious to water. Of course, the flame was black and ice-cold to the touch, but it was progress.

Mark took one look at Lyn's face and decided to ask Kent what had happened. He walked over to the knight and said, "I take it the proceedings didn't go well then?"

Lyn was in earshot, and answered before Kent could. "I apologize Mark, but I will accept no help from that, that-"

She was too angry to speak, and so Kent filled Mark in. "The Marquess confessed that while he originally planned to grant us aid, Lyn's Sacaen heritage changed his mind. He accused her of causing the riot, and turned us away without listening to our appeal."

Mark was pissed. He absolutely hated prejudice. He turned to Lyn. "I do not blame you for turning your back on him. We will make do without his help."

For the first time since leaving with Rath, Lyn gave a small smile. Mark smiled back, before getting everyone up. "Okay, people, let's go. We're not waiting around any longer. We'll make a detour through Khathelet. Perhaps the Marquess there will be willing to aid us. If not, we'll live off the land until we make it to Caelin."

The group left Araphen without looking back. A few of the villagers had given them small tokens of appreciation, such as food and spare weapons, and one villager even gave them another horse. They now had six, for ten people. Kent and Sain rode alone, but their horses carried most of the supplies. Wil rode with Florina, and it was hilarious trying to watch him mount Huey. Every time he'd get one foot in the stirrup, Huey would turn ninety degrees and Wil would lose his balance and fall flat on his back. This happened three times before Florina spoke sharply to Huey, and the pegasus finally allowed Wil to mount.

Mark paired Erk with Dorcas, and, because he was downright evil, Matthew with Serra. Matthew gave him a look that promised a long, slow, death, but Mark just smiled and turned to Lyn. Extending his hand, he said, "Ride with me, milady?"

Lyn smiled and took the hand before pulling herself up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Mark immediately faced forward to hide the blush on his face. He hoped no one else was watching at the moment. Then Lyn started wriggling about behind him, trying to make herself comfortable, and Mark decided the gods were getting revenge for pairing Matthew with Serra. Lyn completed her torturous movements by laying her head on the back of his shoulder and humming.

The group started moving in the direction of Khathelet, when they heard a shout. Mark turned and looked over Lyn's head, to see a horseman riding towards them. He turned the horse around and started to prepare for a possible battle when he recognized the rider.

"Rath! What are you doing here?"

The captain of Araphen ignored him and turned to Lyn. Mark thought he saw Rath's eyes narrow at the sight of Lyn sitting behind Mark, but when he double-checked Rath's face was impassive. The captain spoke to Lyn.

"Lyn of the Lorca, I am no longer in service to Castle Araphen. I would like to offer you my bow. I also brought some supplies from the castle." He revealed the armorslayer Matthew had returned earlier, along with some rations and a few thousand gold. Lyn looked questioningly at Mark. He spoke to Rath.

"You have our thanks, Rath. Kent and Sain are carrying the supplies, so you can leave the armorslayer and rations with them. I believe Florina has our supply of gold at the moment."

Rath looked at Mark and narrowed his eyes. "I do not believe I spoke to you, heathen."

Mark bristled, but before he could respond Lyn spoke. "Mark is my tactician, and is in charge of coordinating the movement of supplies. His suggestion is sound, and if you wish to serve me, you will follow his commands when he issues them. And he is no heathen!"

Rath blushed at being scolded by such a beautiful woman and narrowed his eyes at Mark. Mark figured Rath was trying to figure out what spell he put on Lyn to make her defend him. It annoyed him sometimes how stereotypical people could be. Rath said nothing further, but moved his horse next to Dorcas', and the group got back on the road.

After a little while, Lyn remembered she had a question to ask Mark. "Mark? You said you'd explain why you had Kent accompany me to see the Marquess."

"Oh yes. Well, you see, from what I know of Lycian culture, as your tactician, I can't double as your bodyguard. It would undoubtedly be made clear during the conversation with the Marquess that I directed the battle, and it would have been seen as improper. Now normally I wouldn't really care, but Matthew brought it to my attention earlier that we may have been a part of the reason that attempted coup happened when it did. I hoped following protocol might help our situation with the Marquess. I hadn't counted on him being a bigot."

Mark said the word bigot with such disgust that Lyn had to ask. "I noticed you looked as angry as I did when you heard why Araphen turned us away. Have you had a bad experience with a noble being prejudiced?"

Mark was silent for a little while, and when he spoke, his voice seemed faraway. "Back in Ilia, I had a friend named Kyle. He came from a poor family in the Northern Hills, and when my true parents were alive, we used to play together a lot. Then, my parents died and I got stuck with an unwelcoming family. The father of this family happened to be the head of wheat distribution for all of Eastern Ilia. Eastern Ilia is divided into two parts-the Northern Hills, and the Southern Plains. The people in the Southern Plains tend to be rich, city-living snobs, and they look down on the poor people of the Northern Hills as barbarians. My guardian was one of these bigots, and as the head of wheat distribution he had a form of power over the people of the Northern Hills. A lot of the grain in Eastern Ilia grows in the Northern Hills, about 75% of it, but they only receive about 25% of the wheat, which sometimes isn't enough."

Mark paused for a moment, and Lyn could tell he was remembering something he didn't really want to remember. She rubbed his back slowly in a comforting manner and waited for him to continue.

"One winter, a messenger arrived from a village in the Northern Hills. His village didn't have enough wheat to last the winter, and he had been sent to request more. My guardian denied the request on the basis that 'barbarians don't need more wheat.' The next spring, I visited the village, which happened to be where my old friend Kyle lived. When I went to call on him, I found he had died of hunger during the winter. It was then I decided I would never turn down another's need for aid based on any stereotypical belief."

Lyn didn't really know what to say to that, so she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and hugged him from behind. She hadn't factored in how exhausted she was, and the smooth rocking motions of the horse combined with his comfortable shoulder soon lulled her to sleep.

Mark didn't wake her up until the group reached a small inn on the side of the road, where Kent and Mark agreed they would stay the night. Before they could even get close to the inn, however, they were beset by a small child with green hair and an odd outfit. He was shouting "HELP!" at the top of his lungs and running straight for them.

Mark jumped off his horse, and Lyn followed him. Mark wasn't sure how, but the kid seemed to instinctively know that Lyn was the leader of the group, because he approached her and said, "Please, miss, you have to help me. There are bad men out to kidnap my sister and I and they've taken her. Please, I need your help!"

Kent immediately vetoed the idea. "Milady, I hate to say it, but Lundgren would not be above using an innocent to set a trap. We can't take any chances."

Mark disagreed. "We can take chances, we have before. Besides, I don't think this is a trap."

Lyn was confused. "How can you tell?"

Mark pointed in the distance and turned to the kid. "Are those the men trying to capture you, son?"

The kid turned and looked where Mark was pointing. He gasped and hid behind Lyn.

Mark gave him a look. "I'll take that as a yes. Those men see us, so we're not going to be able to avoid them. We'll have to fight."

The men were in shouting range now and getting closer. Mark saw something on one of their robes that caused him to falter. "Those are elder insignias. They practice dark magic! They'll wipe out the entire party without a monk or a priest to offset their powers." Mark knew of dark magic, and he had dabbled in it a little, but he was no expert. He was also no expert in holy magic, the best way to counter dark magic.

Lyn looked at him in shock. "What do we do then?"

Mark got a determined look on his face. "The rest of you run. I'll do my best to delay him and meet up with you later. Go!"

Lyn didn't look too impressed with Mark's heroics, but before she could argue, the boy spoke up. "Um, excuse me. I noticed a woman at the inn earlier, she had the holy insignia of St. Elimine on her robes. She might be able to help."

Mark looked at him for a moment, before turning to Lyn and saying, "Change of plans. Florina, drop Wil and take the kid back to the inn. See if this priest would be willing to help us fight these thugs off. Go around the back so you aren't seen. The rest of you, prepare for battle. Kent, Sain, to the front. Lyn, Dorcas, flank them on either side. Rath, Wil, Erk, concentrate on bringing down the magic users. Serra, stay in the middle. You're about to get a workout. Matthew, sneak into the hills and circle around. Take out as many as you can from the back."

Wil hopped off Huey, who in turn knelt next to the boy, who climbed on, and Huey took off for the inn. Matthew dashed into the forest and started weaving through the trees to get behind the enemy coming towards the legion. Everyone else formed the defensive position Mark had indicated.

The black-robed men neared the party and stopped. The one in front called out, "Do not play games with the black fang. We know the boy is with you. Hand him over and we will allow you passage. Refuse and die."

Mark started at hearing the name 'Black Fang.' Lyn noticed, but didn't question him. Instead, she called out, "What do you want with him?"

"He has something we desire. He will come to no harm."

Mark could tell a bald-faced lie when he heard one. Still, he wanted to stall for time and give Florina a chance to accomplish her mission. "Let me talk to him, see if he wants to go with you."

Apparently the man was in a rush, because he said, "No. We have no time for more games. You had a chance and wasted it. Prepare to face our wrath."

With that, he and the others attacked. The infantry soldiers charged forward and crashed into Sain and Kent. The two knights held their ground, and they, Lyn and Dorcas went to work protected the magic users and bowmen from attack. Meanwhile, Rath and Wil were firing arrow after arrow at the mages. This was both effective and ineffective. It was ineffective because the mages cast shields that protected them from physical objects, and one mage could cast a shield to protect himself and another. It was effective, because there were four mages, and only two were now on the offensive. Mark got an idea.

"Erk. Take the one on the left and pester him. Don't try to cast any big spells, because he'll have the advantage. Just keep him distracted so he can't finish a spell." Mark demonstrated on the one on the right. He sent a small electric shock at the man. It was a fast spell and took very little effort to cast. It didn't harm the man at all, but it disrupted his concentration, and the spell he was casting failed. Erk did the same to the mage on the left, and his spell failed too. Mark then changed targets and shocked one of the mages holding up the shield. His concentration faltered, the shield fell, and he was struck in the heart by an arrow. The other mage extended his shield to cover the mage now left out in the cold, but Erk copied Mark and shocked him. Unfortunately, the mages were learning, because the offensive mage on the left had cast a shield that protected against magical attacks, which left one mage to cast his spell unimpeded.

Mark swore. "Erk, I can cast a spell powerful enough to shatter his shield, but it will leave me drained for at least a day. You must rotate shocks between all three mages long enough for Wil and Rath to take them down. If one of them gets a spell off, someone dies."

Erk paled, but nodded. Mark turned back to the enemy and saw the mage was half done casting. He prepared himself for the spell that would shatter the enemy's physical shield, but before he could finish he was interrupted.

A shaft of light came down from heaven and speared right through the enemy magical shield. It hit the mage who was almost finished casting, instantly killing him. The other two mages turned in shock. One was struck down by an arrow from Wil, and Matthew chose that time to appear from the trees and knife the second in the back. Mark realized Florina must have accomplished her mission, and he turned to see how the front line fared.

It wasn't looking good. While there were only four mages, there were about twenty infantry soldiers, and Kent, Sain, Lyn, and Dorcas hadn't received any support in alleviating the pressure on them. Kent had a bad gash on his arm, Sain was fighting with his left hand, Dorcas was on the ground with Serra leaning over him, and Lyn was surrounded by soldiers. Mark immediately directed Rath to help Kent and Sain, Wil to keep the enemy off Dorcas and Serra, and Erk to help him make a hole for Lyn to escape.

As the tide turned, another shaft of light came down and impacted the soldiers around Kent and Sain, throwing them into disarray. Matthew came up behind the enemy and killed two of the soldiers surrounding Lyn, while Mark used chain-lighting to stun some of the others, and Erk and Lyn picked them off. Florina came down from above and Huey went back to his favorite pastime of sitting on soldiers already on the ground. After another five minutes of fighting, the last enemy was slain.

It had taken a toll on the group. Wil, Rath, Matthew, and Florina were alright. Mark and Erk were close to passing out from magical exhaustion, as was Serra, and Lyn, Dorcas, Kent and Sain had an assortment of cuts and bruises. As everyone dropped where they stood, Mark looked up to see Florina flying down with a woman, presumably the priest, and the boy on her back. As he watched, the boy pulled a flute from who-knows-where and began to play it. It was an uplifting tune that made Mark feel refreshed and energized. He looked around, and saw happy faces and bright smiles where before he had seen pain and exhaustion. He stood up to help Serra deal with the physical maladies of the group and said,

"I gotta get me one of those flutes."

A/N-there. Chapter 9. I still don't know if I'm gonna make a Mark/Lyn/Rath love triangle, but rest assured this story will be Lyn/Mark. Let me know what you think.


	10. The One Ring

Of Sorcery and Strategy

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 10: The One Ring

Mark didn't know how long the energetic feeling would last, and so he had everyone get up and head towards the inn. He didn't want to be blocking the road when everyone eventually crashed and burned. As everyone started moving, Mark headed over to Florina, the priest and the boy.

Upon getting closer to the trio, Mark noticed something that made him do a double-take. The priest was actually a monk. Priests could wield light magic, but they did so through staves, whereas monks used books. The stranger was carrying a book, and thus was a monk. Now Mark was confused, because only men could be Monks, but if this monk was a man, he had gender issues. As he pulled alongside Huey, he decided not to take any chances.

"Well done Florina. You have my thanks, stranger. I was about to take drastic measures to deal with the mage."

When the stranger spoke, the voice was definitely male. "I was glad to help. I saw your play to keep them distracted, and I was impressed how well it worked. Not many can face a shaman for so long and live to tell about it."

"Shaman. I forgot that's what they're called. Anyway, I am Mark, you've met Florina, and the Sacaen lady headed our way is Lyn. She is on a quest, and we are her escort."

The stranger nodded at him and said, "A pleasure to meet you Mark. I am Lucius, a monk in the Elimine order. I had seen the boy earlier today, and when he returned with Florina here asking for help against a group of shamans, I could not turn him away. May I ask where you are traveling?"

Mark nodded. "We head to Caelin. Lyn is a part of an inheritance dispute, and the rest of us are here to make sure she lives. It's a big dispute. Big, like, for the throne."

Lucius didn't seem surprised. "Yes, I'd heard rumors about the Marquess' long-lost granddaughter. I too, am traveling in Caelin's direction. Perhaps we could join forces for awhile?"

Mark was pleased. "A monk would not be amiss in this party. We'd be glad to join you." At this, he turned to the boy, who had previously been staying quiet and out of the situation. "Perhaps now would be a good time for you to tell us your story, young sir."

The boy jumped off Huey and gave a bow. Mark gave him points for presentation, poise, and balance. He didn't say anything though. The boy started telling his story while Mark and Lyn listened. "My name is Nils. My sister, my twin, is called Ninian. We are traveling performers, and we had stopped at this village. We were going to put on a show in exchange for food and a room, when those men came calling. They've, they've been after us for awhile. We managed to avoid them in the past, but the crowd at that inn wasn't willing to risk danger for two young children who were probably thieves. They took both Ninian and myself. I managed to get away, but they separated us and I couldn't find Ninian, so I went to get help."

Mark gave the situation some thought, before Lyn pulled him aside. "Mark, I know we're on a tight schedule, and I don't wish to delay without reason, but I have a feeling we should help the boy."

Mark looked at her while contemplating the pros and cons of helping the boy. Finally, he said "I agree. He obviously needs our help, and to the people trying to capture him, we've already declared ourselves against him. We can't just stand to the side now and expect them to forgive us. Besides, something that shaman said is bothering me."

Lyn waited for a few moments for Mark to continue, and when he did not, she prompted him, "Well? What did the shaman say?"

For a second, Mark had been so lost in thought he didn't notice Lyn still there waiting for him to explain. "Oh, right. Well, the shaman said something like 'Don't play games with the Black Fang.' I've heard of this Black Fang before."

He paused again to gather his thoughts, and continued. "They're a group of assassins based out of Bern. They started as a bunch of assassins targeting only those nobles who deserved death, but then something changed. Now, they'll supposedly take on any job where they get paid well. They've also moved their operations all over the continent."

Lyn took a moment to adjust to this new information, before asking the obvious question. "And, how do you know this?"

"The assassination team that killed the Marquess I used to work for was Black Fang. They have a reputation for being the best, and they're very expensive. I remember, because I was surprised the Marquess' son would go to so much trouble to kill his own father." Mark had a blank face as he spoke, as if he were trying to suppress his memories and emotions.

Lyn wasn't done asking questions. "You said the son sent assassins after you as well. Were they Black Fang too?"

Mark shook his head. "I doubt it. If they were, they were new recruits. If the son had hired the Black Fang to come after me, I don't think I'd be alive."

Lyn was somewhat shaken at this. Mark had seemed almost invincible to her. To hear he himself thought this group could kill him if they wanted to, well, it was a scary thought. "Do you think we have a chance?"

"At what, rescuing Ninian? Yeah, if we can find her. The Black Fang are assassins, not warriors. Give them a target that doesn't know he's being hunted, and they're in their element. We, however, and meeting them head on as an army. We shouldn't have problems facing them in combat. Finding them, however, is a different matter. An assassin's greatest ability is his ability to not be seen. Their fortress is likely an old fort or something equally unlikely to attract attention, and it will probably be hidden in a valley or alongside a cliff."

While saying this, he started walking back to the group. As he finished his conversation with Lyn, he turned to Nils. "Do you know where they have your sister? Any ideas as to where to look?"

Nils thought for a moment. "I don't know where they have her. When I escaped, I headed north and happened upon the inn. I believe I was on the other side of those mountains." He indicated a small range to the south, where a fortress of some sort could easily be hidden. Mark turned back to the group and issued orders.

"Alright. Let's head back to the inn and regroup. If we are going to take on the Black Fang, I want to make sure we're ready for this."

Lyndis' Legion had slowly been moving in the direction of the inn during the previous conversations. The building was finally in sight, and everyone trooped inside. They had just gathered around a couple of tables when Nils broke off from the group.

"NINIAN!" He took off toward a girl with long green hair and a matching dress. One leg was elevated on a nearby chair, and Mark could see her ankle was swollen. She looked up at hearing her name, and her beautiful face broke into a grin at seeing her brother. Sitting at the table with her was a tall man with red hair and the bearing of a noble. He turned to assess the newcomer. Mark saw the man's hand go to his sword until he saw the obvious similarities between Ninian and Nils.

"Nils! You're alright. When Eliwood rescued me from those evil men and we found no trace of you, I feared the worst."

"I'm alright, sister. I escaped from them, and went to find help to rescue you. Come, I'll introduce you to the friends who would have saved you had it not been for this Eliwood."

Next to Mark, Kent and Sain came to attention. Mark noticed. "What is it?"

Kent looked almost scandalized that Mark didn't know what it was, but Sain gave him a straight answer. "Eliwood is the son of Marquess Pherae. We are in the presence of two nobles."

Mark was used to being around nobility, and so wasn't really in awe, but he was impressed that this Eliwood had gone out of his way to rescue the girl. He spoke to Lyn about his thoughts. "He reminds me of the Marquess of Eastern Ilia. Of course, it could be that he couldn't resist the call of a damsel in distress, but something tells me that isn't it."

Lyn nodded. "I know what you mean. Just from looking at him, I get the feeling that he cares about others. I suppose that's always a good thing in a noble."

Before he could censor his words, Mark blurted out, "I suppose that means you'd make an excellent ruler."

Lyn couldn't help but think Mark looked rather cute as he tried to hide his embarrassment. It was a weirdly-worded compliment, but she could tell he meant it nonetheless, and a slight blush graced her cheeks.

The awkward moment passed when the lord himself came over. "Excuse me, but Nils indicated you were in charge here?" He spoke to Lyn, but seemed to recognize Mark's role as advisor, for he include Mark in his statement. Lyn answered him. "Yes. I am Lyn, and the others follow me on a quest to see my grandfather, the Marquess of Caelin. We have been beset by enemies ever since day one, when I met with Mark, my personal advisor."

Mark liked the sound of the title she gave him, but put it out of his mind for the moment. He stood and bowed. "Lord Eliwood, I thank you for the service you've done the girl. I had little hope of finding her when she was hidden by the Black Fang, but it seems you were able."

The lord actually blushed slightly at the praise, but he waved it off. "I was riding through the countryside to meet a friend of mine, when I saw a group of black-robed men on horses, and the girl was tied to one of the mounts. I feared the worst, and followed the group. They stopped for a drink by the river at one point. They left the girl unguarded, and I took the chance to free her and bring her back here. When she was conscious, she kept asking about her brother. I was going to wait until morning to go out looking for him, but it seems there's no need now. And for that, I thank you. Now, would you tell me more about your story, Lyn?"

Lyn was more than willing to oblige, and Mark got up to get a drink of water. On the way back, he was accosted by Ninian, who wanted to thank him for his role in defeating the men chasing Nils. He told her it was no trouble, and when he got back to Lyn and Eliwood, she had summed up her travels.

Mark walked back just when Eliwood was offering his aid. Lyn seemed to realize that aid from Eliwood was more than just another sword arm, because she turned to give Mark a questioning look. Mark gave it some thought before answering slowly.

"Lord Eliwood, I do appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure your direct aid would be a good idea."

Eliwood seemed surprised. "Why not?"

Again, Mark was careful with how he worded his response. "Well, any aid from you, whether it be your personal assistance, or less direct assistance in the form of supplies or soldiers, would be seen as a declaration of Pherae's support behind Lyn. I have recently come to realize that all of Lycia is monitoring the situation closely. After the fiasco at Araphen, I'm wary about accepting aid that would have political ramifications. Lundgren hasn't started gathering allies to himself yet, and until he does, I think we should try not to cause a conflict that could lead to a civil war."

Eliwood reluctantly nodded his acceptance of this reasoning, before standing. "Well, I'll be in the area for the next week or so. If Lundgren does make a move to bring the other provinces into this, come find me and I'll gain you some allies."

Mark stood as well and bowed again. "Fair enough, Lord Eliwood. I thank you for the generous offer."

At this, Eliwood excused himself. Mark and Lyn watched as he walked over to Ninian and Nils. Eliwood said something to Ninian, who hugged him in return. He then patted Nils on the head, before turning and heading for the door.

Mark turned back to Lyn. "If all Lycian nobles were like the two of you, this country would have no problems. Anyway, why don't you come meet Ninian?"

Mark and Lyn walked over to the twins, and Mark introduced Ninian and Lyn. Ninian shyly thanked Lyn for aiding her, and Lyn blushed and looked down at her feet. Mark thought the two might be having a contest on who could act more embarrassed, and he honestly couldn't tell who was winning. Rather suddenly, Ninian started making twisting motions on her right ring finger with the thumb, index, and middle fingers of her left hand. Mark figured it was a habit when she got nervous, but she did a double-take and looked more closely at her right ring finger before giving a soft "Oh" of surprise.

Lyn looked up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Ninian tried to deflect her attention. "It's nothing. It's not important. I just, well, my ring is gone."

Nils entered the conversation at this point. "Your ring? The same one mother gave you? Curses! Those men must have taken it. No doubt they thought it a pretty little keepsake."

Lyn looked like she could relate. Mark realized she probably could. She probably had an item or two that she treasured because they came from her mother. She looked at him pleadingly, and he motioned to the corner with his head.

Lyn started making her case the moment Ninian and Nils were out of earshot. "Mark, I remember what you said during the fight for the Mani Katti. I know I shouldn't be risking everyone's lives to find a simple ring, but I know what it's like to lose something so close to you. Please, Mark, is there anything we can do?"

Mark put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Yes Lyn, there is. We can find their hideout and raid it. Now, normally I would be against this, no matter how valuable the ring is. However, you and Ninian are in luck. The Black Fang suffered a setback, but they're not defeated. And I don't want to have them at our back. It would be best if we ended this now."

Before Lyn could get another word in, he turned to everyone else. "Alright, listen up. The Black Fang is not a force to be trifled with, and we've caught their attention. Ninian and Nils will be in danger until everyone chasing them has been dealt with, and we are as well. In order to protect ourselves, we're going to be launching a preemptive strike on their stronghold. I want you all to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we head to the southern mountain range and search for their fortress."

By now, the group had learned not to question Mark's orders. If he said they needed to strike the Black Fang first, then it probably needed to be done. There was no arguing from anyone as everyone paired up with a roommate. Mark and Erk paired up immediately, and got a room while everyone else was still trying not to be the one with Serra.

Mark was in his room when there was a knock on the door. He half expected it to be Lyn, but it turned out to be Ninian and Nils. The two spoke simultaneously the minute he opened the door. "We wish to travel with you."

Mark was starting to tire, and so his usual eloquence wasn't present. "What?"

"Nils and I have been talking. After the Black Fang has been defeated, we should be safe for awhile, but we've nowhere to go, and we owe you a debt for helping with us. You've seen Nils rejuvenating powers firsthand, and we have another ability that may be of help to you."

Mark was definitely interested. Nils' power fascinated him, and the mention of another power was exciting. "What is this other ability?"

Nils answered this time. "We can sense danger when it's close. We can't tell you exactly what kind of danger, but we can sense it. If there are hostiles within a mile or so, we'll be able to tell you."

"That's right useful. Well, I'd be glad to have you, but you have to follow my lead. Neither of you are fighters, and I don't want you to get injured. And technically, Lyn is the leader of this group. I'm just her advisor. Talk to her, and tell her I recommend that you travel with us."

The twins nodded and disappeared, and Mark closed the door. Both he and Erk were starting to lose the effects of whatever spell Nils had cast earlier. As a result, they were silent as they got ready for bed. Mark had no dreams that night.

The next day, there was a rush to get everyone ready for the battle. When Florina woke up, Mark told her to take off to the southern hills and search for the enemy fortress. When she was gone, he turned to everyone else and started spurning them on. He was ready to go, and he wanted to end this situation as soon as possible in order to get back on the road to Caelin. He had the strangest feeling that speed was of the essence, even though there wasn't much to indicate it was.

Mark suddenly realized what was bothering him as he was waiting for everyone else to get ready. He walked over to Kent to discuss his concerns.

"Hey, Kent. I have a question for you. We've been assuming that Marquess Caelin has no knowledge of Lundgren's attempts to kill Lyn, or he would put a stop to them. But Lundgren has put at least two, possible three operations in place to end Lyn's life. How could he plan this right under the Marquess' nose?"

Kent thought about the answer for awhile, before paling. He had reached the same conclusion Mark had. "The easiest way would be if the Marquess was disposed. And if he's willing to send assassins after Lyn, then perhaps…"

Mark finished the sentence. "Then perhaps he's also willing to end the Marquess' life. He would have to do it quietly, because he would be chased out of Caelin if there was any proof. That would explain why we haven't heard any hint of this before. Still, there is now some urgency in reaching Caelin with all due speed. We can't leave the Black Fang behind us, but we can't really afford any more detours either. Who's going to tell Lyn?"

Kent pointed at him. "I've seen your eloquent tongue. You'd probably do a better job than I."

Mark nodded reluctantly. "Very well." Quietly, so Kent couldn't hear, he added, "Coward."

He walked over to Lyn. "Lyn, we need to talk."

Lyn looked up in surprise. Mark had rarely been so serious around her. The two often teased each other and joked around. Unless he was in 'tactician mode,' Mark being serious rarely boded well. If he was in 'tactician mode,' then it depended on whose side you were on. If you were on his side, it was great. If not, it sucked.

She followed him to a quiet corner, and he started talking without preamble. "I've been talking to Kent. We were discussing how Lundgren could be organizing these assassination attempts on you without your grandfather's notice."

Unlike Kent, Lyn drew the wrong conclusion. "And you think the Marquess is in on the plan, and this is just some big ruse?"

Mark shook his head. "It could be, but I doubt it. Kent and I agree that Lundgren probably has done something to the Marquess, to keep him indisposed. The Marquess is probably still alive, as I don't see how he could be dead without anyone realizing it, but he's either 'injured' or 'sick,' and Lundgren is ruling in his absence. It makes the most sense. It wouldn't really cause concern, and thus rumors wouldn't spread all over, but it would give Lundgren free reign."

Lyn tried to digest this new information. "So, what now? Do we forget about the Black Fang and head for Caelin with all due speed?"

Again, Mark shook his head. "The Fang is a dangerous enemy. It would be unwise to turn our backs to them. Still, after this, Caelin has to be our priority, and we need to move faster. We thought we had time, and so we haven't been moving quickly, but we need to start."

Lyn nodded at this, and Mark asked another question. "Did Ninian and Nils talk to you last night?"

"They did. After hearing about their special abilities, I'm glad they've offered us their services. Why?"

"Well, when I recruited Dorcas without telling you, you gave me the super-secret-Sacaen-stare-of-severe-scorching, and I had to beg on bended knee for your forgiveness."

Lyn was secretly impressed at Mark's ability to come up with that on the spot, and she was glad to return to the banter she enjoyed with him. The two continued poking fun at each other, until Serra finally found her other slipper and stopped yelling at Matthew for his 'thievery.' Poor guy hadn't even had the pleasure of doing what he got blamed for. Everyone was now ready.

They left the inn and followed the rode until it veered east. They continued south, and had made it to the base of the foothills when Florina finally returned. She had found the Black Fang's hideout, and it turned out to be in the next valley. After a short walk, the fortress was in sight.

It wasn't really a fortress. It was an old abandoned farm house, but from the farmhouse there was a long tunnel that led under the mountain. Mark figured that would be the real fortress. Still, something struck him as off about the farmhouse.

The legion carefully approached. Everyone dismounted, and Mark set the formation. Kent was in front with Dorcas, Sain in the back with Lyn, and everyone else in the middle. The inside of the farmhouse was one big room, and there was a door at the back which led to the tunnel towards the mountain.

Mark wouldn't have spotted it if he wasn't looking for something of the sort. "This space is too small."

Matthew was closest to him, and said, "What?"

"The outside is bigger than the inside. There's another room here somewhere, and its entrance is secret. Think about it. Why have an obviously visible farmhouse for a hideout when one can dig into the side of a mountain and cover it up? The answer? An ambush. Enemies would walk in here, notice the empty room, and head to the tunnel. At the other end of that tunnel, the Black Fang is waiting, but the enemy doesn't realize something. There are more Fang troops in this hidden room, and they're waiting until the enemy is in the tunnel. That way the Fang can strike from both sides."

This was logical, as were most things Mark said, so Kent asked the question everyone was thinking. "So now we look for the entrance to this secret room?"

Mark thought for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "No, I don't think so. This tactic works so well because the enemy is taken by surprise. Remember, the Fang are not hand-to-hand fighters. They attack from the shadows and retreat. I think it'd be smarter to set off their trap."

This wasn't logical, at least to the others, and there was chaos. Mark shouted for quiet, and explained. "We are ready for them. We'll have both front and rear covered, and the situation will work to our advantage. In that narrow tunnel we can deal with them one at a time without worrying about being flanked. We take them one at a time until they're all defeated, just like we did to those bandits on the border between Bern and Lycia. This time, however, we have more people, and the space we'll be fighting in isn't as wide. Kent and Sain can block the ends as Rath, Wil, Erk, Lucius and myself strike from afar. When Kent and Sain get tired or injured, Lyn, Dorcas and Florina can take over for awhile, and we'll keep switching so no one gets overworked. Serra and Nils can keep everyone healthy and energized."

Almost as an afterthought, Mark turned to Ninian. "You'll have to try to stay against the wall. With your injury, it wouldn't be a good idea to try to get involved." Ninian nodded, and that was that.

No one could think of a better plan, so the group got into the formation Mark had indicated and moved into the tunnel. The battle proceeded just as Mark suspected. About halfway through, the door in front and the door in back both opened and the Black Fang entered the tunnel. Mark made sure everyone was facing forward, so the Fang in back didn't realize they were discovered. He cast a spell that created a mirror surface in front of him, so he could keep an eye on the Fang behind them. When they were close enough, he shouted "Now!"

It was a rout. The Fang was not prepared to have their trap turned on them. There were only six men behind the group, and they were easily dealt with. Sain engaged in combat with two. Using his lance, he speared one, before withdrawing the lance and holding it vertically to block a strike from the other. He then proceeded to take advantage of the man's bad balance. He struck the man on the head before the Fang member could recover. Wil, Rath, Erk, Lucius and Mark were all facing behind to quickly deal with the lesser threat. Wil and Rath both shot the same approaching member, Erk fried another, and Mark froze a third. Matthew didn't really want to be left out of the fun, so he dashed from his position in the shadows and had a short duel with the last member. Neither one was very good at combat, and it was almost embarrassing to watch. Eventually, Lucius got tired of watching the debacle, and sent a holy lighting bolt at the enemy, killing him.

Everyone turned around to see Lyn had taken Kent's place, and Florina was beside her. There were nine Fang in front, not including the three Kent had already dealt with. As Mark watched, Nils pulled out his flute and played a short tune. Kent got the full effect, but Lyn perked up slightly, and Mark himself felt a wave of something refreshing, but it wasn't nearly as powerful as the spell Nil had wrought earlier. Lyn had managed to down two more bandits during this time, and Florina then parried a blow from a third before counterattacking and ending his life as Mark watched. Wil and Rath each downed another with headshots, and there were four left. Erk and Lucius teamed up to deal with one, and Dorcas arrived from the back with his hand-axe to kill another. One of the last two got close enough for Mark to pull his own bow. He would have to shoot sideways to hit an ally, so he felt safe enough attempting the shot. He fitted an arrow and fired, and struck the soldier in the stomach. He quickly ended the man's agony with a fireball. The last member was taken care of by Kent, who was feeling good enough to get back in the action.

Mark stopped to make sure everyone was okay. Lyn had a small cut, but it was easily healed by Serra, and no one else was harmed at all. His plan had worked like a charm.

"Oh. I hadn't actually expected that plan to succeed this well."

A/N-I've decided to end the fight there, because this chapter is long enough already. I think I'm starting to get good at writing scenes that are entirely different from the story, yet at the same time are very much the same. I also wasn't really happy with Mark as a tactician. I've been having him call the shots, but until now, I haven't written a scene like this, where he succeeds when anyone else would have failed. I am writing him as a master tactician, not a novice, and so I like how he recognized the trap, and turned it to his advantage. Anyway, let me know what you think.


	11. The Big Bow

Of Sorcery and Strategy

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems do. All I own are the minor plot changes.

Chapter 11: The Big Bow

Mark had Nils play a quick song, for he didn't want to wait in the tunnel before moving on. He had Sain, Kent, Lyn, Dorcas and Florina head to the front, with Nils, Ninian, Serra and the ranged units behind them. He instructed them to fan out in a half circle after passing through the door into the mountain. This formed a protective shield for the ranged units who had weaker defenses.

There was no one in the entrance hall, and there were two separate hallways leading out of the room. Mark left Serra, Sain, Lucius, Nils, Ninian and Dorcas to guard the tunnel back to the farmhouse, and split the rest of the group in two. Kent, Erk, Matthew and Rath went down one tunnel, while he, Lyn, Florina and Wil went down the other.

They proceeded cautiously, but there wasn't a need. Not one Black Fang member was found as they checked each and every room. They finally got to another room, which they figured was the dining hall (because of the big table in the middle), and there they met up with Kent, Erk, Matthew and Rath, who had searched the other half of the fortress and found nothing. There was one room left to check, and Mark guessed it to be the throne room.

He was half-right. There was a man in the room, and he was dead. He was obviously the leader of this small offshoot of the Black Fang, as his clothes and weaponry were much nicer. So the room was the leader's room, but there was no throne. Which made sense for a group of assassins. At first Mark couldn't tell what had killed the man, but then he saw the bottle.

The leader was obviously poisoned. Mark extended his senses, and could feel the tell-tale signs of magic-use. The leader didn't look like a mage of any sort, and so there was most likely someone in the room with the leader. Mark didn't like the looks of this.

"Okay, that bottle there is probably what did the guy in. Now I can feel that someone used magic in this room recently, and I don't think it was the dead guy. This unknown could have poisoned said dead guy, or the dead guy might have taken his own life for whatever reason. Either way, there's no one alive here, and I think we're dealing with something just a little over our heads. Let's go."

No one argued, and everyone filed back to the entrance hall where Lucius, Serra, Dorcas, Nils, Ninian and Sain were waiting. Everyone trooped back to the farmhouse and out into the fresh air. Mark did a headcount to make sure no one was lost, before directing everyone back to the main road.

"Alright, from here, we make haste to Caelin. A recent revelation has led me to believe that time is now of the essence, and so we will be moving faster. Everyone mount up."

The horses, which had been stabled outside when everyone went inside, were saddled and made ready for travel. Ninian and Nils had to double up on Huey with Florina, Wil, Rath, and Erk were all on Rath's horse and every other horse carried two people and supplies. Mark made a mental note to get yet another horse as soon as possible.

Lyn was riding with Mark again, as she seemed to enjoy driving him crazy. He was still convinced she knew exactly how she affected him and continued to do so for her own pleasure. Still, only about a quarter of him wanted to complain, and the other three quarters told that quarter to shut up. Thus, Lyn was again riding with Mark.

No one but Rath seemed to care about this, and Mark actually couldn't tell what Rath thought. The nomad was frowning in Mark's general direction, but then, he always did that, so it might not have anything to do with Lyn wrapping her arms around Mark's waist to keep from falling off, or her laying her head on his shoulder because she was tired. It could just be he didn't like Mark. Or it could be that he was jealous. Either way, he was pretty much ignored.

Most of the group descended into idle chatter with the person they were partnered with. In Serra's case, she was yapping away to Dorcas, who was holding his head in his hands. For some reason Mark couldn't fathom, Serra seemed to like Dorcas. Mark was just glad it wasn't him.

Lyn was finally comfortable around Mark to talk about her life before her village was razed. She and Mark spent most of the trip talking about their early lives and ignoring everyone else.

"The Lorca had this tradition. Every year, they'd have this big bonfire in the middle of the village, and there would be a feast, with dancing and games for the little kids. Then, after the sun went down, the little kids would be put to bed. Kids ten years old and up could stay awake with the adults for another two hours listening to ghost stories. The little kids that got sent to bed had a tradition to go along with this. Kids ages six to nine would organize, and they would form some sort of plan to stay up without getting caught."

Mark was listening with rapt attention. He very rarely heard anything about Lyn's life, and so considered stories like this one a special privilege. Lyn was talking animatedly now, waving her arms and drawing diagrams with her fingers on his back for emphasis.

"When I turned nine, I was put in charge by the other nine-year-olds. There were two of them, and since I was the chieftain's daughter, they deferred to me. I had a brilliant plan. You see, all the little kids were in different tents, so we had to sneak to each tent without getting caught. The older generation knew this was going on, because this tradition was very old, and they had once been 6-9 yr olds. It was all a game to them, but to us, it was our chance to prove our worthiness to sit outside with the adults."

Lyn stopped to gather her thoughts, and then continued.

"My idea was to cause a distraction. I went out the back of my tent and circled around to get the other nine-year-olds. We got back together in my tent, and I explained the plan. They thought it was brilliant too, and we set to work. We went out the back of the tent and into the open fields and found some grubs and other insects. We brought them back to the tent, and I sent the others to get in position."

Mark thought he knew where this was going, but he didn't interrupt. The story was valuable in that it allowed him to look at Lyn and just listen to her voice, even if he did guess what she was going to say.

"I went to get my father. We often got roaches in the tents, and the adults always dealt with them quickly. If they didn't, the roaches could get into the food stores and spoil them, which could be deadly come winter when we relied on stored food to survive."

Again she paused, but this time to catch her breath.

"Roaches always held everyone's attention until they were dealt with, so the other two kids broke into the other tents from the back and got everyone else marshaled. Meanwhile, I was with my father showing him the roaches, and here's the brilliant part. We didn't actually bring roaches inside, but I'm just a nine-year-old. I don't know the difference between a fly and a roach. All I know is that roaches are bad, and something was in the tent. To this day, I don't believe my father realized I played him."

Mark was impressed. It was a well thought-out plan. A diversion that would attract attention, using her own supposed naiveté to ensure the diversion didn't even have a chance of going wrong and causing big trouble, and apparently good acting skills as well. Though, he could see Lyn easily pulling off the 'innocent girl' look. Lyn finished her story.

"After we had all the kids rounded up, we headed to the bluff. It's a small hill overlooking the village. We couldn't really hear what the adults were saying from there, but that wasn't the point. Early that day we put some water canteens and strips of meat up there, and had our own little bonfire without a bonfire. It was the pinnacle of success, to have planned an excursion that went off without a hitch."

She was flushed, simply from remembering the excitement of that night, and the pride she had felt at her success. Mark was wondering how the kids got back down the bluff and into bed without the adults noticing, but that was a story for another time. Lyn made this clear by putting her chin on his shoulder and saying "Your turn."

Mark thought for a minute about a story to tell Lyn, and decided on when he first decided he wanted to grow up to be a tactician.

"Back when my parents were alive, we lived in a small village on the Southern Plains at the base of the mountain. During the summer, we'd head north into the Northern Hills for a festival that happened once a year there. It's where I met Kyle, and it was the one time I saw him every year. Anyway, when I was eight, I was allowed to do some wandering of my own."

Like Mark before her, Lyn listened intently to this snippet of Mark's life. She knew more about him than he did about her, but then she thought that made sense, as his life was much more interesting. She enjoyed everything he shared with her.

"I was walking around aimlessly, when I saw two people staring at something intently. They were sitting opposite each other, and whatever held their attention was in between them. I was curious, so I moseyed on over, and saw my first game of chess. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I'm quite bold when I want to be, so I walked up to one of the spectators and asked what they were doing. He starting explaining the game to me, and as I watched them play, his instructions started to make sense."

Mark thought Lyn's attention would be wandering by this point, so he stopped and looked back. "You are listening, aren't you?"

Lyn was paying attention, and she nodded at him, so Mark continued his tale.

"So there I was watching this chess game, and the guy playing white was losing. At the end of the game, the guy playing black set a trap, and the white player fell for it. He used his knight to take the black guy's queen, but now the knight was out of place, and the black player used the black-square bishop to win."

Lyn was still hanging on to every word. She didn't know where the story was going, but knowing Mark, it was somewhere good.

"It wasn't until my family got home later that day that I realized I could have beaten the white player, who obviously wasn't new to the game. I had seen the trap that he walked right into. I got more interested in chess upon this realization, and my dad found out. He encouraged me to play some games against him. He'd played before, but only as a slight hobby. He wasn't a professional or anything. Still, I was surprised when I won all three games. After that, I got interested in all things strategy, and it culminated with my application to Military Academy with strategic planning listed as one of my areas of interest."

Lyn was impressed that he could beat his father at chess at eight years old. Her father had taught her to play chess as well. Sacaens love chess, as it stimulates the mind. She was taught when she was seven, and she had always thought herself fairly good, but she had never been able to beat her father. She said as much to Mark.

"I've played chess before. I was never able to beat my father though. Perhaps we should play a game some time."

Mark was interested. "Yeah. After this whole heir-to-the-throne business is over, we'll sit down and play a game."

The two traded a few other stories from their early childhoods as they rode along. They had gotten on the road around midday, and it was nearing sundown when Kent and Matthew, who were paired together, came riding over to Mark and Lyn.

"Milady, welcome to Caelin. We've just officially crossed the border."

"Is that so? It doesn't look any different."

Lyn and Matthew laughed at Mark's joke, but Kent looked confused. He then realized Mark was kidding around, and chuckled nervously before heading back to the front of the line. Mark turned to Lyn and shrugged, who giggled as she walked Kent and Matthew gallop away.

It was another half hour before anything exciting happened. Mark had pulled his horse next to Sain's, who was riding with Lucius. Lucius and Lyn started chatting about Lucius' faith, versus Lyn's. Mark was sure it was an interesting conversation, but he was chatting with Sain.

"That pass have a name?"

He pointed to where the road traveled between two mountains. The mountain on the left had a ledge and sloped down on the other side. If one put a spotter on that ledge, he/she could prepare an ambush on the other side of the mountain.

"Yeah, it's called pincer point. You can see why. However, given the peace that's reigned in Lycia for ages, there aren't fortifications there."

Mark wasn't really religious, but what happened next was a heck of a coincidence. Right after Sain said 'there' a bolt flew out of the sky and impacted near Mark and Lyn. It was so close Mark had felt it as it whizzed by his ear.

He immediately went into 'tactician mode,' and his quick mind realized there was a ballista hidden behind the mountain, with a spotter on the ledge, probably with a spyglass, giving the ballista coordinates.

"Everyone get under cover! Head into the trees to the left, now!"

They made record time following his orders, and everyone was safe under the trees in less than 30 seconds. Mark turned to Sain.

"No fortifications, huh?"

Sain was stammering and not making much sense, but Mark didn't have time to hear him out. He turned to the others.

"We all stay in the trees. The spotter for the ballista will be hard pressed to find us here. Kent and Sain in front, Dorcas, Lyn, Florina, Matthew behind them, Wil, Rath, Erk, Lucius, Serra, Ninian and Nils in the back. We proceed slowly alongside the path, until we get to the other side of the pass and cross the road."

The legion moved silently through the trees until they heard the sound of horses galloping. On the path, cavalry and infantry units were clearly visible and heading towards them. Mark immediately told everyone except Kent, Sain, Florina and Rath to dismount. He changed his orders.

"Alright, ranged units move deeper into the trees. Fire at the enemy in the road, don't bother with anyone in the woods. Ninian and Nils, stay up front and keep the melee units from exhausting themselves. Lyn, Sain and Matthew, move to the back in case they try to flank us. Florina, make sure you stay on the ground. If that ballista sees you and targets you in the air, you're done for. Melee units up front, keep the enemy from entering the forest as much as possible."

The enemy reached the edge of the woods and clashed with the legion. Kent, Florina and Dorcas were up front fending them off. The legion was more skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and the three managed to keep the enemy from entering the woods, which gave them an advantage. Wil and Rath were raining arrows down on the enemy, and Erk, Lucius and Mark were sending fireballs, thunderbolts, and lighting at the enemy.

A few foot soldiers had entered the woods further up the road, intending to surprise the legion from behind. However, Lyn, Sain and Matthew were in the back to defend against this strategy, and combat ensued. There were seven enemy units in the back woods. Lyn swung at one and scored a hit on his shoulder. Sain thrust his lance at another, and struck the enemy in the stomach. The lance went straight through the man and came out to stab a third man in the thigh. Matthew, meanwhile, had climbed a tree, and from the branch above dropped two knives, each striking a different enemy in the skull. With three down and two injured in a matter of seconds, the three were in good shape.

Up front, Florina had gotten a stab wound in the stomach. Mark acted quickly, frying the man who injured her before carrying her back to Serra, a few feet behind him. He then drew his sword and took her place on the front line.

It looked different up front. Mark could acutely sense the danger here, where flailing swords and stray axes could easily end up causing injury. He was a mage first and foremost, and so was used to being in the back, having time to react to a situation by targeting the weak spots on an enemy's line. Up front, you stabbed whatever was in reach.

He managed well enough while Serra got Florina back on her feet. He had downed two enemies with sword thrusts and managed not to get struck back when she returned. He gratefully retired to a spot behind her and returned to sending fire and electricity into the enemy.

After awhile he looked around. Lyn, Sain and Matthew had dealt with the two soldiers who were alive and healthy when last Mark checked, and they had tied up the injured ones. Wil had apparently observed Matthew's methods, as he had found a sniper's perch in a tree and was firing away. Erk was starting to tire, as his fireballs were fewer and farer between. Lucius seemed okay, but his attacks were slower anyway. Rath was out of arrows, but the nomad had a small knife. He had hopped off his horse and made like Matthew. He hid in the trees and struck at the enemies that got too close.

In total, it took about a half hour for the legion to finish off the enemy. When the last soldier fell, Mark got everyone on the move again. The ballista had been inactive during the fight, probably because a ballista was rather inaccurate, and the archer manning it must have feared hitting an ally.

The group stayed in the trees and got to the other side of the pass. As they turned and looked, the ballista became visible in the distance, and they saw something else as well. The forest ended, and the path entered a wide, open valley that had no cover. The road was blocked by a regiment of soldiers. Mark could see four cavalry, two armored knights, and seven foot soldiers. It was a small battalion, but the fight would still be difficult.

Mark quickly formed a plan. "Okay, Wil, do you know how to operate a ballista?"

"No, but I'm a fast learner. I'll figure it out."

"Okay, you, Dorcas, Erk, and Lyn will run across the road into the other side and head for the ballista. Disable whoever's manning it now, and figure out how to use it. When you do, start firing at the knights. Aim for the soldiers in the back. Dorcas, you'll stay with him in case there are any more enemies in the area, while Lyn and Erk head for the front. Rath, once the ballista is in our hands, go retrieve some of your arrows and join the rest of us. Everyone else will wait at the edge of the trees, and when Wil starts firing we'll break cover and meet them in the open field."

The indicated people left to do their job, while everyone else trekked to the edge of the forest and waited anxiously. After about fifteen minutes, a bolt flew from the ballista and headed for the enemy army. It struck one of the cavalry units in the chest, and the enemy forces descended into chaos. Kent and Sain chose that moment to charge, and battle was joined.

Florina struck first. Huey had been forced to stay aground during the entire fight in the woods due to the threat of the ballista, and he was antsy. When the opportunity came, he took to the air and flew top speed for the armored knights. Florina, however, knew that was a bad idea and steered him towards the foot soldiers. He flew low and straight into three of them. Two were hit dead on, and killed instantly, while the third had his arm broken when he was hit on the side. As she flew by, Florina proved that she had excellent reflexes by spearing a fourth soldier in the ribs.

The three enemy cavalry still left all had javelins, and they tossed them at Huey. However, the pegasus was moving far too fast, and not one scored a hit. Meanwhile, the cavalries' backs were turned to Kent and Sain, who slew two as they rode past. They circled around and prepared for another charge when another bolt from Wil landed. It struck the horse of the last cavalryman, and the soldier was thrown off. He was still in fighting condition though, so when the rest of the legion got there, they faced four foot soldiers and two armored units. Mark told everyone to stop.

"Kent, Sain, Florina, pull back. Those armored units are strong but slow. Everyone keep out of range of their lances while shooting down the foot soldiers."

It was a simple plan, but it worked. Of course, Mark had shouted this plan in the middle of the battlefield, so the enemy heard it too. However, the beauty of the plan was that it didn't matter. The foot soldiers stayed close to the knights, and were picked off at range by the archers and magic uses.

Lyn and Erk arrived to a rather funny scene. The legion was basically playing a cross between hit-and-run and keep away with the knights and infantry soldiers. Mark, Rath and Lucius were running away from the enemy. Once they were a good distance away, they'd turn and fire a fireball, an arrow, and a lightning bolt respectively. Meanwhile, Kent, Sain and Florina all had lances out. They would gallop/fly up to the foot soldiers, jab at one with a lance, and gallop/fly away before the knights could retaliate. Erk joined in on the fun, but Mark made sure Lyn didn't get anywhere near the fight.

"Stay out of range. By the time you get close enough to take a swing at the infantry, you'll be in range of the knights' lances. You won't do any good in this battle, so don't get involved."

Lyn had learned not to argue with Mark, especially in the heat of battle. She wasn't happy being told to wait out a battle, but she did so anyway because she knew Mark wasn't coddling her. He would have told Dorcas to not get involved either, but Dorcas wasn't there in the first place. So, she moved back to the tree line away from the battle with Ninian and Nils, who were also waiting for the battle to be over. The three watched as Mark's plan worked spectacularly.

The four foot soldiers didn't last long against the attack from multiple directs. They could parry blows from the melee units and dodge arrows and magic, but they couldn't do both forever. One soldier fell to a thrust from Kent, another to Florina, a third to an arrow from Rath and a fourth to Lucius' lightning.

After that, the two knights realized the futility of continuing the fight. They dropped their lances and surrendered. Matthew wanted to kill them, but Mark stopped him. He told the two knights to take off their armor. When they had, they were tied up and left in the field with the injured foot soldiers who were still alive. After that was taken care of, Mark paused to catch his breath. Lyn was next to him, so he turned to her and said,

"Welcome home."

A/N-chapter 11 done. It occurred to me near the end of the chapter that Matthew isn't in this fight in-game. I originally planned to stick to that and have him disappear, but I wrote him in without thinking about it and I'm too lazy to go back and change things, so I'm changing the script a little. Never fear, Matthew will leave the group for awhile at the beginning of the next chapter.


End file.
